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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost rejected the proposal summary language on Tuesday on a proposed referendum that would make that possible repeal a bill that would amend Ohio’s voter-passed recreational marijuana law and ban intoxicating cannabis products.
Ohioans for Hemp Choice submitted a request for a referendum repeal Ohio Senate Bill No. 56which is scheduled to go into effect on March 20 after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signs the bill on December 19. The referendum has been submitted Yost’s Office, December 29.
“After reviewing the summary, we found omissions and inaccuracies that, taken as a whole, would mislead a potential signatory about the scope and effects of SB 56,” Yost wrote in response to the petitioners.
If Yost certified this language, Ohioans at Cannabis Choice could do so start collecting signatures for a referendum on the November ballot.
“We intend to improve the language, collect an additional 1,000 signatures and not slow down,” Dennis Willard, spokesman for Ohioans for Cannabis Choice, said in a statement.
“Voters this November will have the opportunity to say ‘no’ to SB 56, ‘no’ to excessive government involvement, ‘no’ to closing 6,000 businesses and abandoning thousands of Ohio workers, and ‘no’ to going against the will of Ohioans who overwhelmingly supported the legalization of cannabis in 2023.”
Ohioans voted to legalize marijuana in 2023, recreational sales began in August 2024, and total sales were over $836 million in 2025.
“Republicans know Ohioans are ready to be held accountable for rewriting Issue 2, so instead of letting voters decide, they are delaying and distracting to prevent a referendum altogether,” Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, said in a statement.
The new law will lower the THC level in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% to a maximum of 70%, limit the THC level in adult-use flower to 35% and ban smoking in most public places. This prohibits possession of marijuana outside its original packaging and criminalizes bringing legal marijuana from another state back into Ohio. SB 56 also requires drivers to keep marijuana in the trunk of their car while driving.
If Ohioans participating in Cannabis Choice manage to obtain a language proficiency certificate, they will need to collect 6% of the total votes cast in the last gubernatorial election (248,092) to get on the November 3 ballot. The group will also need 3% turnout for county governors in 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties.
The organizers will have 90 days from the date the act is submitted to the secretary by the voivode to collect the required signatures.
The last referendum held in Ohio was in 2011, when voters overturned a law banning collective bargaining.
Follow a Capital Journal reporter Megan Henry in Bluesky.
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