By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Today, Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood), a Lakewood Democrat whose 23rd state Senate district includes most of Cleveland's wards, issued a statement after the Republican-dominated Ohio Senate voted to accept conference committee changes to Senate Bill 56 (SB 56).

Antonio says the conference committee changes significantly alter the state's adult-use cannabis program and directly undermine the will of Ohio voters, who established Ohio's recreational marijuana industry by passing State Issue 2 in November 2023.

SB 56 now heads to the desk of Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature.

Pushed by community activists statewide, Ohio voters approved the Issue 2 referendum that made recreational marijuana legal in November 2023, alongside the Issue 1 referendum that made access to abortion legal.

"Democrats have remained very consistent over the last few years since Issue 2 passed. We wanted to respect the will of voters, address unsafe marketing practices–especially towards children– and fund and include expungement," said Leader Antonio. "Unfortunately, Republicans decided to recriminalize conduct that Ohioans voted to legalize, and redirect cannabis revenue away from Issue 2's intended purposes, including social equity, substance-abuse treatment, and criminal-justice reform.

Whether SB 56 will pass constitutional muster if challenged remains to be seen.

SB 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 the 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 travellers 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.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

Staff article

CLEVELAND, OHIO- The Cleveland City Council, at a meeting on Monday, approved a $100 million exit deal that allows the Cleveland Browns to leave the city and relocate to a yet-to-be-built stadium complex in Brook Park after the 2028 season.

Council voted 13-2 to approve the measure, with Councilpersons Michael Polensek and Brian Kazy voting no and Joe Jones and Stephanie Howse-Jones absent from Monday's council meeting.

Supported by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, the $100 million settlement with Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam and the city of Cleveland is slated to be used for a Cleveland lakefront development and community programs..

The agreement also calls for the Haslams to pay for the demolition of the existing Huntington Bank Field Stadium in downtown Cleveland where the Browns currently play games, as well as tens of millions toward community projects in the coming years. In return, the city will drop its lawsuits, including one that claims, in part, that, per state law, the Haslams needed permission from the city council to relocate the team after 30 years in downtown Cleveland, and that downtown Cleveland businesses will suffer.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most-read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former President Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.