State lawmakers finalized and sent legislation to Gov. Mike DeWine that would create new criminal penalties for marijuana users and impose a new and comprehensive set of rules around an unregulated form of the drug sold in gas stations and other retailers.
Senate Republicans voted 22-7 on Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 56. House Republicans passed the same package last month. Once DeWine formally receives the bill, he will have 10 days to sign or veto it.
The legislation is a major accomplishment for DeWine. He signed legislation in 2019 that legalized so-called “intoxicating hemp” – a drug grown from the same cannabis plant as marijuana that produces a similar high sensation, while evading the age requirements, product testing and taxation of its more traditional counterpart.
But as the hemp industry has matured in Ohio, the governor has grown into a political opponent. By the start of 2024, he was publicly lobbying lawmakers for a crackdown on the new industry. His advocacy included sending 15-year-olds into a Clark County gas station as de facto undercover agents to purchase intoxicating hemp candies marketed to mimic well-known brands.
A DeWine spokesman said the governor’s team will review the final version of the legislation.
Five things SB 56 does to change Ohio’s marijuana laws
- It adds new minor misdemeanor penalties around the possession of marijuana for users who don’t follow new rules around packaging or buying from out-of-state dispensaries, while rolling back certain legal protections in administrative and professional settings like housing, professional licensing or employment contexts.
- It releases tens of millions of dollars in marijuana tax revenue that state officials have declined to distribute, claiming a technical legal issue, to cities that have allowed dispensaries in town.
- It creates an expungement system for people with past marijuana convictions on their records.
- It transfers all non-drinkable hemp sales to 21-and-up dispensaries.
- It allows bars to sell “drinkable cannabinoid products” for on-site consumption, and retailers to sell it for carry-out until 2026, when a recently-passed federal law banning hemp takes effect.
While Democrats supported the legislation at various points during the two years of negotiations, they ultimately jumped ship after raising concerns about the new penalties, lost legal protections and pared down expungement availability for marijuana users.
Columbus Democratic Sen. Bill DeMora called it “disgusting” that the bill substantively deviates from the marijuana legalization Ohio voters approved in 2023 on a 57% to 43% vote. He singled out one provision specifically that would allow managers of organ transplant waiting lists to weigh marijuana use against a possible recipient.
Sen. Nickie Antonio, the ranking Senate Democrat, of Lakewood, said rather than any single major change, the bill is full of “nuggets” loaded with ways to charge marijuana users with criminal offenses.
“I just think it went down into sort of a rabbit hole with some of the details,” she said. “At the core of this, you have a group of legislators in the majority that are out of touch with everyday Ohioans.”
Those criticisms are overblown, according to Senate President Rob McColley. He emphasized that marijuana can still be bought, sold, used and possessed in Ohio, the central goal of legalization. Prohibiting sales across state lines ensures products are “at the same standards” Ohio requires.
He noted that minor misdemeanors are a comparatively light penalty – no jail time and up to a $150 fine. And he said the rules, such as the requirement to keep drugs in the original packaging, serve laudable goals.
“It’s something I think is important, to be able to say, this is what it’s supposed to be, it’s a regulated product, it’s a tested product, it was legally purchased,” he said. “It’s not something that is going to be heavily penalized, but it’s something that we need to make sure [law enforcement] have the tools necessary that they need to to be able to enforce that.”
Ohio Municipal League Executive Director Kent Scarrett issued a statement after the Senate’s vote, praising lawmakers for taking action to free up tax revenue for cities.
“For two years, municipalities have worked in good faith – adopting zoning standards, adjusting public-safety protocols, engaging in community education, and preparing for the impacts of this new industry – based on the promise that a share of the adult-use cannabis excise tax would return to the communities hosting dispensaries,” he said. “Preserving this revenue stream ensures that cities and villages will have added resources to continue providing these services safely and effectively.”