Ohio Senate passes a marijuana, hemp bill and sends it to DeWine

In a 22-7 party-line vote on Monday, the Ohio Senate approved Senate Bill 56, banning sales of intoxicating hemp products outside licensed dispensaries and tightening adult-use marijuana rules.

The bill, which aims to align state law with federal guidelines prohibiting unregulated THC-heavy hemp while addressing voter-approved cannabis reforms from Issue 2, was sent to Gov. Mike DeWine for his expected signature, according to the Ohio Capitol Journal.

Republicans called the bill, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, a balanced child protection measure.

“This bill leaves the crux of Issue 2 and marijuana access intact while providing for several important public safety concerns and also regulations that protect Ohio children,” state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, said.

House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, previously pointed out that the bill “has undergone a robust, thorough and collaborative legislative process.”

“I believe we have landed on a good faith compromise between interested parties while reinforcing guardrails for the protection of Ohio’s children,” he said.

Huffman reassured Ohioans who consume recreational or medical marijuana by saying that this bill “will make it better.”

“We’re still going to have 12 plants [per household]. It’s still going to be reasonable for most Ohioans,” he said.

On the other hand, Democrats and others who opposed the bill said the changes are an anti-voter overreach on Issue 2, which legalized recreational use with 57% support in 2023 and raked in $702.5 million in first-year sales.

“As far as intoxicating hemp goes, when all is said and done, this bill definitely benefits big marijuana businesses. And at the same time, leaves a lot of small business owners in the wake,” Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood, said, as the Journal reported.

She added that, according to her caucus, there is a “group of legislators in the majority that are out of touch with everyday Ohioans,” specifically when it comes to the issue of marijuana.

“Ohioans were loud and clear when they passed Issue 2—they wanted real decriminalization and a responsible, adult-use market, not politicians overturning the will of the voters. SB 56 undercuts the will of the voters and moves our state backward,” House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, wrote in a press release.

The bill follows an executive order DeWine signed targeting “intoxicating hemp.” As a result, several groups that opposed the measure filed a lawsuit.

A Franklin County judge has paused DeWine’s executive order.