Senate Republicans Override Will of Ohio Voters on Cannabis; Bill Heads to Governor's Desk

COLUMBUS — Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) today condemned the Senate’s passage of anti-voter Senate Bill (SB) 56 which overrides the will of Ohio voters on cannabis and undercuts local craft brewers and businesses with hemp products.

“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 at a moment when the rest of the country is moving forward. We fought hard to make sure kids were safe from intoxicating hemp and that host communities got the money voters allocated for them, but there is no reason for that to come at the cost of respecting adults who choose to use legal recreational cannabis. Ohioans deserve a government that honors their vote - not one that rewrites it," said Leader Isaacsohn. 

House Republicans cut a deal with Senate Republicans to override the will of the 57% of Ohioans who voted in favor of the ballot initiative that protected adult-use cannabis in 2023. The version of Senate Bill 56, which was voted on in the early hours of November 20th in the House, added criminal provisions, stripped anti-discrimination provisions for cannabis use, and further curtailed expungement efforts. The bill failed to create a pathway for craft brewers to make THC beverages with Ohio cultivated marijuana and bars any sale of drinkable cannabinoid products at the end of 2026, even if the federal law changes, creating great uncertainty and threat to the industry. The bill does finally appropriate community host funds that the state has been improperly withholding from local communities for the past two years. 

SB 56 passed out of the House with 52 affirmative Republican votes and passed the Senate with 22 affirmative Republican votes.

The bill will now head to the governor’s desk for signature.