Archival photo of a marijuana dispensary. (Getty Images.)
Ohio lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk to overhaul marijuana policy, leading to a slew of new crimes ranging from buying pot in Michigan to smoking in public places.
It’s taken years, but recreational marijuana policy is finally reaching the finish line. It was an attempt by Republicans to “make changes” to the legislation to make it “better,” lawmakers say.
In November 2023, 57% of Ohioans voted yes on issue 2: legalizing recreational marijuana.
“This bill leaves intact the core of Prop. 2 and access to marijuana while addressing several important public safety issues,” Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, said of SB 56.
While Republicans like Huffman are cheerful with what they call a compromise – creating some restrictions but keeping the same amount of marijuana you can have – Democrats call it:
“Bull****,” said Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood.
Antonio is frustrated, as is marijuana policy researcher Karen O’Keefe.
“It’s a slap in the face to voters,” O’Keefe said. “In Ohio, an overwhelming majority of voters voted to legalize cannabis, period, and that creates numerous exceptions where harmless behavior would be criminalized again.”
Huffman defended the law.
“It has banned smoking in public places… it prohibits opening containers of marijuana and smoking in cars,” Huffman said.
It also gives landlords the option to ban smoking and vaping, prohibits allowing marijuana in outdoor establishments and requires all products to be kept in the same packaging in which they were purchased.
“Imagine you have a pill container and you write down the dosage in it because it’s a drug – that would be a crime,” O’Keefe said.
She added that the Open Container Act is one of the most disturbing.
“If you had a bag of groceries in the backseat of a Lyft or on a public bus, if it were ever opened, you would be a criminal,” she said.
It also makes purchasing cannabis out of state a crime.
Federal law currently does not allow crossing state lines, but it is not enforced.
This would be an enforceable state provision that prevents a citizen from traveling to Michigan, where weed is cheaper, to purchase it.
“If you were using medical marijuana in an upstate state… you would be a criminal,” O’Keefe said.
The legislation also removes protections against discrimination in housing, employment and even organ donation.
“The voter-approved initiative includes language that seeks to prevent cannabis from ruining a person’s life in many ways, in addition to criminal offenses,” O’Keefe said.
“One of them was that you cannot be denied medical care, including organ transplantation, just because you are an adult-use cannabis consumer.”
Democrats also argue that the provision would allow police to establish probable cause during a traffic stop if someone is a “known consumer” of marijuana.
We asked Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, for his response to concerns about what supporters call the recriminalization of marijuana
“I don’t actually agree with that,” McColley replied.
The president said that enforcing new crimes, such as possessing jelly beans in different packaging, would not be a priority for law enforcement agencies.
“There are a lot of provisions in this bill… It’s not something that will be severely penalized, but we need to make sure that [police] have the necessary tools in case law enforcement is necessary,” he said.
This will simply lead to selective enforcement, O’Keefe said, harming marginalized communities that have been negatively impacted by drug convictions in the past.
“If you are African American, you are much more likely to be criminalized because of this type of disproportionate enforcement,” she said.
We asked if O’Keefe thought there would be more arrests.
“I think so,” O’Keefe replied. “More than 3,500 people have been arrested in Minnesota under open container laws. I expect thousands more will be arrested.”
The bill now goes to Gov. Mike DeWine, who says he will consider it. But many marijuana advocates are hoping for a lawsuit.
Adding insult to injury, lawmakers also stripped Issue 2 of its destruction funds.
“It has a kind of milk toast feel to it, a weak extension of the language of erasure, while at the same time taking away all the funding,” O’Keefe said.
She added that this would place an even greater burden on people who voted to clear their records.
Still, marijuana advocates did much better than the hemp industry in the Legislature.
The bill completely banned the expansive majority of “intoxicating” cannabis – low-THC products that can be purchased at gas stations and tobacconists.
Breweries and stores with alcohol licenses will continue to be able to sell THC-containing beverages until the federal hemp ban goes into effect next year.
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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