Columbus, OH: House lawmakers decided on Wednesday in favor of a substitute version of Senate Bill 56, which makes numerous changes to the state’s voter-approved adult-use marijuana legalization law.
The Republican-spearheaded bill amends existing law in several ways. It stipulates that consumers cannot legally possess cannabis products sourced from out of state, including products legally purchased at licensed dispensaries in neighboring jurisdictions. No other legalization state imposes such restrictions.
It also repeals provisions currently protecting adult-use consumers from facing either workplace or professional disciplinary action, as well as other forms of discrimination based solely upon their private marijuana use. It restricts consumers who home-cultivate cannabis from harvesting more than 2.5 ounces of total flower, and it imposes felony penalties for those who grow more than six plants at one time. It imposes new arbitrary limits on the percentages of THC permitted in adult-use and medical cannabis products and it caps the total number of retail licenses permitted statewide.
Other provisions in the legislation create an expedited pathway for those seeking to expunge past marijuana-related convictions, regulate the sale of certain hemp-derived products, and redirect a portion of tax revenues from marijuana sales to individual municipalities that license cannabis retailers.
NORML has vociferously lobbied against proposed changes to Ohio’s adult-use marijuana law, which was approved in 2023 by 57 percent of voters. NORML’s action alert opposing SB 56 has been shared with lawmakers over 18,000 times. It states: “This bill is a slap in the face to the millions of Ohioans who voted in favor of Issue 2. Once again, politicians are arrogantly trying to claim that the public didn’t know what they were voting for.”
A commentary authored by NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano and Political Director Morgan Fox, published in The Columbus Dispatch, opined: “Lawmakers had years to craft legislation regulating Ohio’s adult-use marijuana market. They chose not to do so, instead leaving the decision up to the electorate. Legislators do not have the right to play Monday morning quarterback now simply because most Ohioans voted in a way they disapprove of.”
The legislation now returns to the Senate, which initially proposed even more comprehensive changes to the law. If Senators fail to approve the House’s amended version of the bill, it will be advanced to a conference committee for further debate.
“NORML is asking all Ohioans who care about personal freedom and the rights of voters to urge the legislature to reject SB 56 in its current form,” said Fox. “This isn’t what Ohioans voted for, and the fact that this bill is being rushed through the legislature, with almost no opportunity for public comment, indicates that lawmakers know they are undermining the will of the voters. Regardless of where one stands on cannabis issues, everyone should be outraged at this.”
NORML’s legislative alert opposing Ohio’s Senate Bill 56 is available from NORML’s Take Action Center.