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 (S.B. 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.

S.B. 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 S.B. 56 will pass constitutional muster if challenged remains to be seen.

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 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.