COLUMBUS, Ohio – A coalition aiming to launch a referendum campaign to block parts of Ohio’s recently signed marijuana and hemp regulations from taking effect was dealt a major blow late Tuesday.

Attorney General Dave Yost told Ohioans for Cannabis Choice that he rejected the summary language for the referendum to repeal elements of Senate Bill 56.

Yost received the petition on Dec. 29 and had 10 business days under state law to determine whether the title and summary were “fair and truthful statements of the measure to be referred.”

In a letter to the campaign, Yost said the summary did not accurately reflect SB 56, citing inaccuracies and misleading statements that he said could confuse potential petition signers.

“Upon review of the summary, we identified omissions and misstatements that, as a whole, would mislead a potential signer as to the scope and effect of S.B. 56,” Yost wrote.

Yost outlined specific concerns in the letter. For instance, he saidthe summary is confusing because it includes two similar descriptions of the law’s definition of hemp.

The language also mistates the control the state has over delivery ofmarijuana from a dispensary to an adult consumer, he said.

Plus, he said, itinaccurately says that all felony offenses disqualify individuals from getting a cannabis-related license, a once-included provision that Gov. Mike DeWine removed in signing the bill.

Yost also wrote that the summary inaccurately states that SB 56 repealed a ban on license holders offering gifts, samples or other free or discounted adult-use marijuana products. Yost said that instead, SB 56 directs the Division of Cannabis Control to establish standards.

Also, Yost wrote that the summary misleads readers into believing the bill lets local governments limit the rights of license holders and restrict other activities permitted under statewide cannabis control laws.

Finally, he said the summary language falsely states that local governments can levy an excise tax on retail sales of adult-use marijuana, though SB 56 prohibits it.

Ohioans for Cannabis Choice, the group behind the petition, responded to the rejection with a statement calling Yost’s ruling “just a speed bump in the process.”

“We are going to fix the language, collect an additional 1,000 signatures, and not slow down,” said Dennis Willard, spokesperson for Ohioans for Cannabis Choice.

“Voters this November will have the opportunity to say no to S.B. 56, no to government overreach, no to closing 6,000 businesses and abandoning thousands of Ohio workers, and no to defying the will of Ohioans who overwhelmingly supported legalizing cannabis in 2023.”