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Yesterday, Ohio’s Republican supermajority passed a bill to re-criminalize marijuana and completely change the law Ohioans passed in 2023.
Truly, you have to ask, what are Republicans thinking?
57 percent of Ohio voters supported legalizing adult-use marijuana in 2023. That’s a huge margin in this highly polarized state.
In fact, 14 Republican-heavy counties voted to legalize adult-use marijuana on the same day they voted AGAINST abortion rights (which are also incredibly popular in Ohio).
Messing with Ohio’s new weed law will be wildly unpopular with Republicans’ own voters.
On top of that, Republican politicians will be wasting our tax dollars by sending more people into the criminal justice system under this bill (SB 56).
SB 56 finds ridiculous little ways to criminalize marijuana while most other states move in the opposite direction.
For example, “if you have a baggie of edibles in the backseat of a Lyft or on a public bus, if it had ever been opened, you would be a criminal,” warned Karen O’Keefe from Marijuana Policy Project.
Another example of re-criminalization? It would be illegal to buy recreational OR medical marijuana products in another state.
The bill also gives landlords the ability to ban smoking and vaping in their properties — and about 1/3 of all Ohioans are renters.
So, if this bill becomes law, 1/3 of Ohio adults could be punished for smoking legally-purchased marijuana in their own home.
Even worse, we know the law won’t be implemented evenly across the state. As recently as 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found “extreme racial disparities in marijuana arrests.”
Their damning report showed a significant increase in marijuana arrest rates in Ohio between 2010 and 2018 — and Black Ohioans were 3.4 times more likely to be arrested than white Ohioans. There’s zero reason to assume that won’t happen again.
To recap: Ohio Republicans just passed a bill (SB 56) that:
- Their own voters will hate
- Completely disregards the will of Ohio voters
- Will waste Ohioans’ tax dollars
- Will tie up and slow down our criminal justice system with petty marijuana arrests
- Will hurt low-income, Black, and brown Ohioans the most
Why does anyone vote for them?
It’s important to point out that every single Democrat voted NAY (no) on this bill. Every Democratic legislator stood with voters. It was exclusively Republicans who passed this garbage legislation.
I will always call out Democrats when they deserve it, but the two parties are NOT the same.
Filled with rage? Channel it. Contact Governor DeWine (and his top staff). Tell them to RESPECT OHIO VOTERS and VETO SB 56.
Then read through the list of people who voted YEA (yes) on SB 56. Make a note of who voted against Ohioans.
Mark your calendar right now for Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026. Every state rep and half of the state senators in Ohio’s legislature will be up for reelection.
Remember next November.
