The referendum is specifically aimed at repealing the first three sections of Senate Bill 56, which was passed at the end of last year to make a list of changes to Ohio’s recreational marijuana laws, and limit the sale of intoxicating hemp products to marijuana dispensaries only.
Intoxicating hemp was previously unregulated, allowing any willing retailer to sell products containing delta-8 THC, THCA and other intoxicating cannabinoids at their own discretion. These included hemp-infused drinks, often sold at bars, which originally were exempted from the ban before the governor vetoed that provision.
Yost’s role in the process is to determine if a submission summary is fair and truthful to the actual effect of the changes the referendum would have in the law.
The first three sections of Senate Bill 56 that the referendum would strike down if passed include a long list of changes to the existing marijuana law. These include adding intoxicating hemp products in marijuana control laws, prohibiting smoking marijuana in public places, limiting the amount of marijuana that a consumer can have, requiring marijuana products when not in use be stored in the original packaging, criminalizing possessing recreational marijuana bought out of state and placing a 10% excise tax on marijuana sales.
Now that the referendum petition has been approved, the group that put in the proposal, Ohioans for Cannabis Choice, will have to gather at least 248,092 valid signatures – six percent of the total voters in the most recent gubernatorial election – spread over 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. If they succeed, the proposal will be put on the ballot, and a simple majority of voters would pass or reject the referendum.
Staff writer Avery Kreemer contributed to this story.
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