Ohio: Bill to gut voters’ legalization law heads to Senate floor

The Ohio Senate General Government Committee advanced a terrible bill, SB 56, that would create a legal minefield that re-criminalizes cannabis consumers.

If you live in Ohio, let your senator know voters won't stand for this outrageous attack on their law, which is death by a thousand cuts.

Among other outrageous provisions, SB 56 would:

• re-criminalize innocuous conduct, including sharing cannabis, smoking or vaping anywhere outdoors — including your porch or backyard, and having edibles in the passenger area of your car if they were ever opened
• reduce potency limits on extracts to 70% and restricting the types of products available
• eliminate the cannabis social equity and jobs program, which includes technical and licensing assistance for those most impacted by the war on cannabis and funding for criminal justice reform such as sentencing reform, legal aid, and expungement related to marijuana
• eliminate non-discrimination protections that prevent cannabis consumers' lives from being torn apart by the responsible use of cannabis — such as by having their children taken away and being denied life-saving organ transplants and benefits they paid into

While SB 56 no longer includes a tax increase, that is because Gov. Mike DeWine is separately proposing doubling excise taxes from 10% to 20%, which would drive consumers underground and across the border to Michigan.

The amended bill also added some weak-tea expungement language, which is barely better than the status quo. It still requires petitions to be filed, and it only applies to possession of up to 2.5 ounces, which has been a minor misdemeanor since the 1970s. And of course, the same bill creates numerous new minor misdemeanors for adults sharing cannabis, "open containers," and other conduct that hurts no one.

People power killed last year's attempt to gut their law, and we can do it again. Fifty-seven percent of voters approved Issue 2, and it got majority support in 88% of Senate districts and 76% of House districts. Speak out and spread the word on social media.