Smith Issues Statement Following Passage of Marijuana Overhaul Bill

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued the following statement after the Ohio Senate voted to accept conference committee changes to Senate Bill 56, which significantly changes the state’s adult-use cannabis program and directly undermines the will of Ohio voters, who established Ohio’s recreational marijuana industry by passing State Issue 2 in 2023. 

“Legal adult use of marijuana is something that Ohioans have wanted for years, and after being frustrated by the legislature’s inability to legalize it, Ohio voters passed an initiated statute in November of 2023,” said Smith. “Ever since, Statehouse Republicans have been trying to roll back Ohioans’ legal rights and the will of the voters. Today, they did just that. SB 56 reallocates how tax revenue will be spent and gives landlords the authority to make marijuana consumption decisions for their tenants. This is not what Ohioans want nor is it what they voted for two years ago when Issue 2 passed in 30 of 33 Ohio state Senate districts.”

S.B. 56 drastically alters key provisions of the recreational marijuana law passed by voters in 2023 and re-criminalizes conduct voters chose to legalize. The bill will:

• Impose stricter limits on THC by reducing current allowable limits;
• Make it easier to characterize adult-to-adult transfers as illegal trafficking, thus restricting the ability to share cannabis with another adult;
• Give the Division of Cannabis Control the ability to make formerly legal paraphernalia criminal;
• Criminalize the possession and use of out-of-state cannabis, making lawful travelers newly subject to prosecution;
• Expand the authority for landlords to prohibit cannabis consumption and home cultivation;
  Roll back protections against adverse actions in housing, employment, and other areas; and 
• Reduce the number of individuals who may have their records expunged for prior marijuana-possession offenses.

S.B. 56 now heads to the governor for his signature.