Ohio House Passes Legislation Repealing Elements of Voter-Approved Marijuana Legalization Law

The legislation now returns to the Senate, which initially proposed even more comprehensive changes to the law.

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(Columbus, Oh.) - House lawmakers decided on Wednesday in favor of a substitute version of Senate Bill 56, which makes numerous changes to the state's voter-approved adult-use marijuana legalization law.

The bill amends existing law in several ways. It stipulates that consumers cannot legally possess cannabis products sourced from out of state, including products legally purchased at licensed dispensaries in neighboring jurisdictions. No other legalization state imposes such restrictions.

It also repeals provisions currently protecting adult-use consumers from facing either workplace or professional disciplinary action, as well as other forms of discrimination based solely upon their private marijuana use. It restricts consumers who home-cultivate cannabis from harvesting more than 2.5 ounces of total flower, and it imposes felony penalties for those who grow any number of plants more than the legal limit. It further restricts the places where adults may legally consume cannabis.

The new version of Senate Bill also imposes new arbitrary limits on the percentages of THC permitted in adult-use and medical cannabis products and it caps the total number of retail licenses permitted statewide.

Other provisions in the legislation create an expedited pathway for those seeking to expunge past marijuana-related convictions, regulate the sale of certain hemp-derived products, and redirect a portion of tax revenues from marijuana sales to individual municipalities that license cannabis retailers.

The legislation now returns to the Senate, which initially proposed even more comprehensive changes to the law. If Senators fail to approve the House's amended version of the bill, it will be advanced to a conference committee for further debate.