Smith Condemns Marijuana Changes That Subvert Will of the People

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) released the following statement after the passage of Senate Bill 56, which overhauls the adult-use recreational marijuana laws that the majority of Ohioans voted to approve in 2023.

“This week, Senate Republicans re-wrote the laws around adult cannabis use,” said Smith. “Despite the fact that Issue 2 won in 30 of 33 state Senate districts, Ohio Republicans ignored the wishes of Buckeye voters and just did what they wanted. I hope the Ohio House demonstrates more respect for Ohio voters than the Senate did.”

Senate Democrats offered several amendments that would have ensured the bill respected the will of the voters who overwhelmingly approved Issue 2. Some of those amendments would have:

• Eliminated financial barriers to expungement
• Aligned public smoking rules for marijuana with public smoking rules for cigarettes
• Increased the limit on home grow plants
• Restored the THC content and milligram serving/packaging limits to current law
• Restored the dispensary license distribution to current law

Senate Bill 56 now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives for consideration.