Ohio elections are almost here!

Since voters legalized cannabis in 2023, Ohio has seen the real and measurable benefits of legalization. Ohio reduced cannabis arrests from 7,260 in 2023 to 1,335 in 2025. The human cost that prohibition brought on in Ohio is hard to calculate. A cannabis arrest haunts a person for the rest of their life, stymieing economic, educational, and parental opportunities and rights. 

We have also seen teen use drop 45% in those few years. And Ohio is not an outlier, as every state that has legalized cannabis has seen a substantial drop in youth usage and access, according to federal data. 

Legal cannabis also allows Ohioans to have a safe, regulated option to use cannabis while also paying for programs that strengthen the place they live. Since legal sales began in August 2024, adult-use cannabis taxes have generated $147 million for the state. That money goes directly back into Ohio’s communities, funding important services like job training and substance abuse programs.

These are the benefits of legalization, but that progress isn’t guaranteed. It depends on who we elect.

The Ohio state government has made several attempts to severely curtail the adult-use cannabis market. Voters will have an opportunity to decide who represents them in the state capitol. The entire House of Representatives and half the state Senate are up for election. 

While MPP did not have the bandwidth to survey candidates for the state legislature, we were able to highlight the two top-polling gubernatorial candidates' policy stances on cannabis. 

Amy Action (D) is a physician and former Department of Health Director. She has criticized the recent federal crackdown on hemp-derived THC products, specifically beverages. She believes in preserving the citizen-led initiative to legalize cannabis and grant protections around a now legal product.

Vivek Ramaswamy (R) is an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate. He has not taken a public stance on cannabis policy as a gubernatorial candidate. When running for president, he informed voters he voted against the legalization ballot initiative, but believed that cannabis should be decriminalized at the federal level.