A proposal to repeal a law that seeks to tweak the state’s recreational marijuana statute and ban intoxicating hemp has hit a roadblock. That means the group that wants to stop Senate Bill 56 from taking effect and allow voters to decide on it in November will have to try again.
Senate Bill 56, signed last month, will ban most intoxicating hemp and THC and CBD beverages. It also changes the marijuana law voters approved in 2023, including criminalizing storing edibles outside their original packaging or possessing any marijuana product purchased legally in another state.
The repeal petition submitted by a coalition of cannabis and hemp retailers known as Ohioans for Cannabis Choice includes omissions and misstatements that are misleading, said Attorney General Dave Yost. He identified six areas of concern over the summary language, such as unclear definitions of "hemp" and a suggestion that the law allows local governments to put sales taxes on marijuana, when Senate Bill 56 actually prohibits that. He also noted the summary said felony offenses would disqualify someone from receiving a cannabis-related license, which he said was a provision Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed.
Yost must sign off on the petition the repeal effort to continue. Ohioans for Cannabis Choice said in a statement that it's "disappointed, but not surprised or deterred. Ohio Attorney General David Yost is just a speed bump in the process." The group said it intends to fix the language, collect another 1,000 signatures and resubmit the petition.
"Voters this November will have the opportunity to say no to SB 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," said Ohioans for Cannabis Choice spokesman Dennis Willard.
It’s not unusual for petitions to be rejected, but the retailers were hoping to block the law from taking effect in March.
