Ohio’s Senate General Government Committee held a hearing today on a bill that would significantly alter the state’s recreational marijuana law.
The committee held the hearing today on Senate Bill 56, which would roll back some of the state’s recreational marijuana law, which was approved by voters in 2023. Over 40 people provided testimony in opposition to the bill, with just one person in support. This pushed the committee’s chair to delay a vote on the bill to at least next week, following expectations that a vote would happen this week, and as soon as today.
“SB 56 is not the tidying-up of a citizen-initiated statute. Instead, it is a rebuke of the people and businesses that drafted the initiative, voted for it, worked tirelessly to implement it, and generated (so far) $319 million of adult-use sales”, said the ACLU of Ohio.
If enacted into law, SB 56 would reduce the number of plants adults can grow at home from 12 to six and lower the THC cap for concentrates from 90% to 70%. The measure would also place a limit of 350 on the number of licensed retailers allowed (Tim Johnson, a retired law enforcement officer and Air Force Veteran, pointed out during the hearing how this cap makes no sense given the state has thousands of active liquor licenses).
In addition, the measure would end social equity licenses, and remove the Division of Cannabis Control’s authority to establish rules allowing marijuana deliveries and online sales.
Ohio voters approved legal marijuana in November 2023, and sales began on August 7, 2024. Data released today shows that the state’s legal marijuana market has generated $509 million in sales, with $333 million from adult-use purchases.
