Rep. Fischer Supports Cannabis Reform Legislation

COLUMBUS, OHIO – State Representative Tex Fischer (R-Boardman) today voted in support of Senate Bill 56, legislation updating Ohio’s marijuana laws, ensuring protections for children and addressing the issue of intoxicating hemp.

The bill passed with bipartisan support and preserves the legal adult-use marijuana provisions approved by voters in Issue 2 (2023), while also working to promote public safety.

"After many long months of revisions and negotiations, I voted in support of Substitute Senate Bill 56. I was proud to have worked on several important provisions in this bill regarding hemp regulation," said Rep. Fischer. "This legislation is a reasonable compromise that protects kids from illicit intoxicating products but still provides an avenue for existing hemp businesses to remain open under regulatory oversight. The broad bipartisan support for this bill shows that we respected the will of the voters regarding Issue 2 and guaranteed that local communities can finally begin to receive the tax revenue they deserve.”

The bill makes the following updates:

Clarifying Ohio’s Marijuana Law

• Keeps adult-use marijuana legal (as approved by Issue 2) and maintains a 10% tax rate.
• Allows expungement for past minor marijuana possession convictions that are now considered legal.
• Clarifies home use/growing rules – allows adult use on residential property; home-grow still allowed but banned in halfway and recovery houses as well as childcare programs.
• Eliminates the cannabis social equity and jobs fund/program.
• Gives the Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) full authority to regulate marijuana from cultivation-to-sale.
• Allocates 36% of marijuana tax revenue to host communities with dispensaries. 

Promoting Public Safety

• Bans public smoking and intoxication.
• Restricts ads and packaging appealing to children and requires ads to be 500+ feet from schools/churches.
• Limits sale of intoxicating hemp products to licensed dispensaries.
• Clarifies OVI laws, including banning passengers from smoking in vehicles.
• Caps THC potency at 70% for extracts and keeps 35% for plant material.
• Protects employer rights to prohibit employee marijuana use.

Intoxicating Hemp

• Creates a regulated pathway for Ohio-grown hemp but only through licensed hemp dispensaries.
• Bans sales to minors and in places allowing those under 21, closing current loopholes in gas stations/smoke shops.
• Requires safety testing, potency limits, packaging rules, and DCC oversight as well as safeguards against making products attractive to children or advertising to children.
• Applies a 10% excise tax, similar to the tax on marijuana.
• Grandfathers existing hemp dispensaries (as of August 30, 2025)  that meet state licensing requirements.

Hemp-Infused Beverages

• Legalizes the manufacture, distribution, and sale of drinkable cannabinoid products (DCPs).
• Low-dose (up to5mg THC): Allowed in bars/restaurants for on-site consumption.
• Higher-dose (up to 10mg THC): Sold in groceries/gas stations for off-site use only.
• Products exceeding limits may be manufactured in Ohio but only sold out-of-state.
• Regulated by the Division of Liquor Control and taxed at $1.20 per gallon, like high-alcohol beverages.
• Requires clear labeling with THC amounts, ingredients, and warnings.

Senate Bill 56 now returns to the Ohio Senate for a concurrence vote.