COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s elections chief named a special investigator on Wednesday to review what he calls “significant disparities” in a marijuana legalization group’s ballot petitions and said he is subpoenaing the campaign’s director.

The announcement by Secretary of State Jon Husted is the latest show of force by the state’s Republican powerbrokers against ReponsibleOhio. The group seeks to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would mark one of the nation’s most significant leaps in marijuana policy, taking Ohio from a complete prohibition against cannabis use to legalization for both medical and recreational use.

When you think of popular retirement destinations, Florida and Arizona likely come to mind.

But according to Reuters, some U.S. retirees are considering more than warm weather, good health care and close proximity to grandkids when deciding where to retire. Many American seniors are choosing to enjoy their golden years in a marijuana-friendly state.

Chris Cooper is a 57-year-old retired investment adviser from Ohio. He opted to retire in San Diego because California has legalized medical marijuana use. Cooper, who doesn’t like heavy-duty prescription painkillers like Vicodin, told Reuters that marijuana eases his back pain and spasms.

The Denver Police Department is hardly seen as a booster of legal marijuana.

The DPD's official policy is to enforce laws in the city and the state, and the department has done so in a manner some critics see as heavy-handed.

If anyone would have suggested a year ago that Ohio might be on the verge of legalizing marijuana in 2015, I would have laughed at the idea.

First, Ohio is a conservative Midwestern state that is seldom, if ever, on the cutting edge on social issues. And second, 2015 is an off-year election, with no statewide or federal elections, meaning the voter turn-out would be lower and the likely voters would be older and less supportive than would be the case if the proposal were on the ballot in 2016, a presidential election year when younger voters turn out in far higher numbers.

It was another eventful week in the fight to legalize marijuana in the United States. Perhaps the biggest news to surface was a couple of federal bills that some activists believe to be another indication that the government’s war on marijuana is on its last leg. Other highlights include an initiative aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana in Michigan, as well as guidance coming from the California Lieutenant Governor’s office in an attempt to help steer the regulatory model of a potential cannabis industry in 2016.

If anyone would have suggested a year ago that Ohio might be on the verge of legalizing marijuana in 2015, I would have laughed at the idea.

First, Ohio is a conservative Midwestern state that is seldom, if ever, on the cutting edge on social issues. And second, 2015 is an off-year election, with no statewide or federal elections, meaning the voter turn-out would be lower and the likely voters would be older and less supportive than would be the case if the proposal were on the ballot in 2016, a presidential election year when younger voters turn out in far higher numbers.

CLEVELAND – The race is on for supporters of legalized marijuana to get the issue on the Ohio ballot in November.

The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office announced Tuesday that the group behind the marijuana amendment, ResponsibleOhio, does not have enough valid signatures.

Of the 660,190 signatures submitted by ResponsibleOhio, only 276,082 were deemed valid by local boards of elections. That falls short of the required 305,591 valid signatures, or 10 percent of total votes for governor in the most recent election.

Petitioners now have 10 days, until July 30, to collect nearly 30,000 additional valid signatures.

Depending on who you talk to, a shortfall of nearly 30,000 signatures on a marijuana legalization petition was due either to bad math or mistakes by elections officials.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office contends it counted every signature submitted on a marijuana legalization petition, but that ResponsibleOhio made a big math mistake, turning in 35,083 fewer signatures than it claimed for a total of 660,190.

Ian James, executive director of ResponsibleOhio, countered that his organization kept a digital record of all 695,273 signatures submitted and that elections officials in some of the 88 counties erred by failing to review and count all the names.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Pro-pot group ResponsibleOhio fell more than 29,000 signatures short of the number required to qualify its marijuana legalization issue for the November ballot, but will have 10 days to make up the difference.

To qualify for the ballot, ResponsibleOhio must collect at least 305,591 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters and meet a certain threshold in 44 of Ohio's 88 counties.

Of the 660,190 signatures tallied by the secretary of state's office, about 42 percent -- 276,082 -- were verified as valid by county boards of election. ResponsibleOhio had reported last month it submitted 695,273 signatures.

The political action committee plans to challenge the boards' count, which they say excluded more than 40,000 signatures.

CINCINNATI — The marijuana legalization effort in Ohio is in danger because it does not have enough signatures yet to put a measure on the Nov. 3 ballot.

“We’re coming in lower than we were expecting,” said Ian James, executive director of ResponsibleOhio, the private investor group that wants to legalize marijuana this year.

Ohio’s secretary of state is expected to announce as early as Monday whether ResponsibleOhio gathered enough valid signatures of registered Ohio voters to get the measure before voters in 2015. ResponsibleOhio needs 305,591 signatures to qualify. On June 30, the group turned in 695,273 signatures with the goal of ensuring it would have the right number, 50%, to qualify.