Group Seeks To Legalize Marijuana In Newark

Backers of a plan to ask Newark voters to decriminalize marijuana have turned in 2 thousand petition signatures to get the issue on the November ballot. The East Central Ohio Decriminalization Initiative would prohibit fines and jail time for people caught with small amounts of marijuana. Backers say Newark's current penalties are more severe than Ohio's drug law. The Licking County Board of Elections must validate nearly 11 hundred signatures for the measure to make the ballot.