DeMora, Blackshear Condemn Marijuana Law Changes, Propose Amendments in Committee

Today, state Senators Willis E. Blackshear Jr. (D-Dayton) and Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) released the following statement after their amendments to Senate Bill 56 were rejected by Republicans in the Senate General Government Committee.

“We attempted to amend the bill to reinstate many of the provisions that were included in Issue 2, but those amendments were tabled by the majority in committee,” said Blackshear, who serves as the Ranking Member on the General Government Committee. “It is unfortunate that this committee would pass a bill so out of line with what the voters intended when they approved adult-use marijuana by a margin of over 14 points in 2023.”

“It is outrageous that none of our amendments that would have restored the will of the voters were accepted or even thoroughly considered,” said DeMora, who also serves on the General Government Committee. “This was the last of many attempts to try and bring this bill closer in line with common sense and the will of the people.”

Senate Bill 56 overhauls the adult-use recreational marijuana laws that the majority of Ohioans voted to approve in 2023. Senator Blackshear and Senator DeMora 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 passed out of committee 5-2 and now heads to the full Senate for a vote.