SALEM, Ohio — The war on cannabis still lingers in the corners of the Ohio Statehouse as legislators craft new bills to reform the state voter-passed Issue 2 statute.

Issue 2, passed in November 2023 by 57% of Ohio voters, legalized recreational marijuana in Ohio for ages 21 and older. Lawmakers recently introduced two bills — Ohio Senate Bill 56 and House Bill 160 — which aim to further regulate the industry.

However, Ohio voters and many in the cannabis industry believe some of the proposed changes could hamstring the already struggling industry, including a cap on the number of licenses in the state and increased criminal penalties that could put Ohio consumers at risk.

“There are a minefield of new criminal penalties that are attached with both of these bills,” said Cat Packer, an Ohio resident and the director of drug markets and legal regulation at the Drug Policy Alliance, a national non-profit organization that advocates for polices to reduce the harms of drug use and prohibition.

“I think consumers and voters have an expectation of legalization to mean a reduction of those criminal penalties. Somehow, Republicans in the Ohio legislature seem to imagine legalization that includes more criminal penalties than existed prior to legalization,” Packer said.

Industry after Issue 2

Ohio Senate Bill 56, introduced by state Sen. Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City) in January, and House Bill 160, introduced by state Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) in March, would set additional rules on licenses, increase restrictions on homegrowing cannabis and public smoking and protect minors from cannabis products.

The proposed changes aim to protect Ohio children while keeping “the core, adult-use features of Issue 2” in place, Stewart said.

Both bills put limits on how dispensaries design packaging so that it doesn’t appeal to children and establish criminal penalties for those who give cannabis to persons under 21. The bills also put a cap of 350 licenses, including cultivator, processor and dispensary licenses, in the state.

There are currently 139 licensed dispensaries in Ohio and an additional 12 with provisional licenses. According to the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control, marijuana sales topped $90 million in January and produced $240 million in 2024. Recreational cannabis dispensaries opened in August 2024.

Currently, there is a 10% adult-use tax on cannabis products, which goes towards the social equity and jobs programs, mental health and addiction services, local governments and the administrative costs of the Ohio Department of Taxation and the Division of Cannabis Control.

Cannabis sales could increase as more dispensaries are allowed to open. Licenses, however, have only been given to dispensaries that sold medical cannabis prior to the passing of Issue 2.

Restrictions

The Issue 2 statute creates pathways for others to become part of the industry, including 50 licenses set aside for social equity and job applicants — individuals and groups who have been historically and disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition.

The Senate and House bills, however, would eliminate these licenses. Packer says the inability to get a license and a cap on licenses could encourage people to continue to sell cannabis on the black market (illegally). Already, the limited number of licenses is having an impact on the industry.

“There still hasn’t been an opportunity for new entrants to the market and I think that’s part of the reason why prices are so high because we are dealing with a suppressed and limited market where competition is stifled,” Packer said.

Many Ohio users continue to travel to Michigan dispensaries for cheaper prices, something lawmakers are aware of.

“Our tax policy should incentivize Ohioans to buy affordable, regulated, state-grown marijuana rather than pushing them to the black market, or even worse yet, to Michigan,” Stewart said.

House Bill 160 and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s 2026-27 Executive Budget originally proposed to double the tax on cannabis sales, but this was struck down on April 1. The House Bill and DeWine’s budget would, however, change where these taxes will go.

Instead of a social equity fund or going to local communities, as designated by Issue 2, the bulk of the cannabis tax will go to a general fund, which would fund training for law enforcement and build jails, among other objectives.

“If you are an Ohio consumer, and you are purchasing cannabis in the legal and regulated market and paying taxes, you will literally be funding, potentially, your own incarceration and criminalization,” Packer said. “Because remember, at the same time that the legislature is trying to direct all of these resources to law enforcement, they’re also establishing a dozen plus new criminal penalties for cannabis activity specifically.”

Criminal penalties

Current Ohio cannabis law allows Ohio residents to grow six cannabis plants per individual and 12 per household.

Senate Bill 56 would lower the number of plants a household can have to six, and both pieces of legislation would prohibit home growers from giving and selling cannabis products to others. Under the proposed bills, cannabis consumers would be forbidden from transporting marijuana unless it is in its unsealed, original package or stored in a trunk.

Marijuana advocates state this could put consumers at risk if they don’t have receipts, original packaging or other ways to prove they obtained their products legally.

“What really surprised the cannabis community was how they attack their own clients, their own people, the consumer and the patient. We’re are the ones who go into the dispensary and buy their products, (but they) want to enhance penalties and mandatory sentencing,” said Tim Johnson, a retired law enforcement officer in Franklin County and founder of Cannabis Safety First, which provides policy advising services on cannabis reform.

Johnson helped draft Ohio’s medical marijuana bill in 2016 and has been working with legislators at the Ohio Statehouse to reform the Senate and House bills. He is particularly concerned about proposed criminal penalties for driving under the influence.

First-time offenses for driving under the influence of cannabis are the same as pre-legalization, with a three-day jail stay. Both bills add stricter penalties for repeat offenses of driving while high, but Johnson says driving impaired by cannabis is an unproven science.

Marijuana THC (the psychoactive chemical in marijuana) metabolites are found in urine, blood and saliva tests and can last in the body anywhere from a few hours to months. This means regular cannabis users are likely to have a high THC metabolite count, even if they haven’t smoked recently.

“To me, it is kind of like an entrapment clause. Until the sciences can prove the impairment of cannabis on an individual, it’s something as far as statutes that needs to be looked at differently,” Johnson said. “Legalization is not legalization until you’re free from prosecution.”

Legislators like state Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) agree with Johnson, which is why he introduced Ohio Senate Bill 55 that increases THC limits for driving to take into account these metabolites.

Manning, however, is still a strong proponent for cannabis roadside testing, which law enforcement officers say would be expensive. Manning is in favor of additional funding going toward law enforcement to offset these new costs; this could happen as proposed in DeWine’s 2026-27 state budget.

Both bills also establish public smoking restrictions: Senate Bill 56 allows cannabis users to smoke only inside their private residences, as long as the landlord approves, and House Bill 160 restricts smoking cannabis to privately-owned residential or agricultural properties. The legislation also addresses delta-8-THC products, which are not currently regulated by the state.

Senate Bill 56 was passed by the state Senate in February, despite numerous opponent testimonies from Ohio organizations like the Ohio Municipal League, Ohio Veterans’ Alliance for Medical Cannabis, Ohio Mayors Alliance and more. Hearings on House Bill 160 will continue later this month. The bills will most likely be merged; lawmakers hope to pass a final bill by June.

(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)