Ohio Issue 2 Legalizing Adult-Use Marijuana Passes

Ohio became the 24th state to legalize marijuana for adult use, on Tuesday, November 7th, when voters in the state approved Ohio Issue 2. The new law authorizes and regulates the cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession, home grow, and use of adult use cannabis by adults at least 21 years of age. It allows the sale and purchase of marijuana, which a new Division of Cannabis Control would regulate; allows adults who are 21 years of age and older to use and possess marijuana, including up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and 15 grams of marijuana concentrate, and to grow up to six cannabis plants at the individual’s primary residence, with a total limitation of not more than twelve cannabis plants per residence where two or more adults reside at one time; and enacts a 10% tax on marijuana sales, some of the revenue of which will go towards a social equity and jobs program. The new law goes into effect 30 days after the election.

Issue 2 creates the Division of Cannabis Control (the “Division”) within the Ohio Department of Commerce, which will be responsible for licensing and regulating state adult-use marijuana operators. The new law requires the Division to adopt rules on twenty-two topics, including the following: establishing application, licensure, and renewal standards and procedures for license applicants or license holders related to adult-use cannabis operators, adult-use testing laboratories, and individuals required to be licensed; establishing reasonable application, licensure, and renewal fee amounts to ensure license applicants and license holders pay for the actual costs for administration and licensure for the Division; the process and requirements for Division approval of any requested change in ownership or transfer of control of an adult-use cannabis operator or adult-use testing laboratory; determining penalties for violation of Division rules or of the new law, and a process for imposing such penalties; establishing training requirements for employees and agents of adult-use cannabis operators and adult-use laboratories; prescribing standards and procedures for product packaging and labeling of adult-use cannabis products; and much more. The Division is also granted the authority to adopt other rules necessary for the administration, implementation, and enforcement of the new law. In addition, the new law imposes certain deadlines by which the Division must issue specific license types. For instance, regulators will have to begin issuing adult-use licenses to qualified applicants who operate existing medical operations within nine months of enactment. Further, the new law requires that adult-use cannabis operators and adult-use testing laboratories adopt operating procedures that comply with operation requirements required by the Division rules adopted pursuant to the new law.

Notably though, as a citizen-initiated statute, the new law is subject to change. Lawmakers who remain opposed to Issue 2 in the state legislature are free to tweak the law, and even repeal it, though the political stakes are higher now that voters have approved it. So, although Governor DeWine–who vocally opposed Issue 2–does not have the authority to veto the ballot initiative, according to the Ohio Constitution, legislators can still propose and pass modifications to the new law after the election. In this sense, lawmakers have the final word. In fact, Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, who also opposed adult-use marijuana legalization, recently said that while there were no immediate plans to repeal the law if Issue 2 were to pass, it would likely undergo some changes.