Ohio Activists Plan Referendum To Block New Law Rolling Back Marijuana Rights And Restricting Hemp Sales

Ohio marijuana referendum: the kind of late-night, greasy-spoon showdown where the coffee is burnt, the jukebox skips, and the stakes are real. Activists calling themselves Ohioans for Cannabis Choice are hustling signatures to put SB 56 on ice—the fresh law Gov. Mike DeWine just signed to scale back the state’s voter-approved cannabis statute and ban most consumable hemp sales outside licensed dispensaries. Their play is simple and brutal: file an initial 1,000 valid signatures, get certified, then stack roughly 250,000 more to land a statewide vote. Hit the deadline—three months from now, the same day the law is set to kick in—and the statute pauses until Ohio voters decide whether to keep it. In a state where adult-use cannabis only just got its sea legs, this is not legislative housekeeping. It’s a knife fight over who gets to define “legal” in the Ohio cannabis market.

DeWine says he’s out to tame intoxicating hemp. SB 56 goes further, and faster, than that tagline suggests. The law would tighten the spigot on consumable hemp products by corralling sales into licensed dispensaries and drawing a hard line at 0.4 mg total THC per container—plus a sweeping prohibition on synthetic cannabinoids. It tracks with a recent federal move limiting hemp-derived products, but Ohio isn’t waiting for the one-year federal implementation window. The governor used a line-item veto to scrap a temporary hemp beverage program that would’ve lasted into 2026. This follows a failed 90-day emergency ban on intoxicating hemp that a county judge enjoined, a reminder that policy whiplash is becoming a feature, not a bug. Meanwhile, the bigger American picture is wildly contradictory: even as some in Washington talk access and reimbursement—see Federal Health Programs Will Cover Up To $500 Worth Of CBD For Certain Patients By April, Trump Official Dr. Oz Says—Ohio is moving to funnel hemp into the same narrow pipe as marijuana, with fewer protections and more penalties. As campaign spokesperson Dennis Willard told local TV, “We believe voters will say no to government overreach.”

“No to closing 6,000 small businesses and pink-slipping thousands of workers across the state. No to once again recriminalizing hemp and marijuana.” (NBC4)

Let’s talk about those penalties. SB 56 would recriminalize certain marijuana activity that voters thought they’d settled in 2023—including a new risk for anyone who buys cannabis outside Ohio’s licensed system. Pick up a few grams at a legal store in Michigan, drive back, and you could face charges for possessing cannabis not sourced from an Ohio dispensary or a legal homegrow. It strips anti-discrimination language that once shielded lawful consumers—protections tied to child custody, organ transplants, and professional licenses. It bans smoking cannabis at outdoor public spots like bar patios. It lets landlords forbid marijuana vaping at rental homes; violate it—even in your own backyard—and you’re staring at a misdemeanor. Other states are wrestling with similar tensions and trying not to kneecap veterans or patients while they do it. Case in point: Florida Bills Would Reduce Medical Marijuana Fees For Military Veterans And Ban Public Smoking. And if you’re wondering how to keep your holiday plans and your record clean, regulators elsewhere have tried to meet people where they are—see State Marijuana Regulators Share Tips On How To Stay Safe And Legal Around The Holidays—because “legal” only matters if regular people can live with it.

Ohio’s cannabis industry isn’t a theory anymore; it’s a market with receipts. The state’s medical and adult-use sales have surpassed $3 billion, with about $703 million in recreational cannabis in the first year alone—proof that the adult-use legalization switch flipped demand from back rooms to receipts. Regulators proposed updated labeling and packaging rules as the market expanded, and earlier this year the state doubled daily purchase limits after determining supply could keep pace. That’s the legitimate arc: regulate, tax, refine. Yet even in this practical machinery, the culture war hums—like when the governor floated shifting marijuana tax revenue toward police training, local jails, and behavioral health. Cannabis taxation will always raise the question: who gets the cash, and who gets the handcuffs? Meanwhile, across the borderlines of policy, some states are stepping into new territory entirely. In Massachusetts, lawmakers advanced a plan to widen access to a different frontier—see Massachusetts Lawmakers Vote To Legalize Psilocybin And Establish Framework For Therapeutic Access. The patchwork keeps getting louder, and Ohio’s stitch will say a lot about where the Midwest lands on hemp beverages, synthetic cannabinoids, and what “adult-use” really means.

So here’s the board, and here are the pieces. The referendum campaign needs that first 1,000 valid signatures certified, then a statewide pile—roughly a quarter-million—to make the ballot. The deadline tracks the law’s effective date. If they hit the mark, SB 56 goes on ice until Ohioans vote, and the small businesses staring down closure—thousands of workers alongside them—get something rare in politics: time. Maybe voters shrug. Maybe they throw a brick through the window of government overreach. Either way, the choice should belong to them. Until then, know your rules, keep your receipts, and don’t mistake a public patio for a safe harbor. And if you prefer to vote with your wallet while the lawyers and lawmakers brawl, our shop is open.