Cannabis News
Ohio Attorney General Approves Referendum To Reverse Marijuana And Hemp Restrictions
Ohio’s attorney general has accepted a recent submission a referendum petition to block parts of a restrictive marijuana and hemp law He said it was “misleading” to go into effect after rejecting an initial version.
“After careful review of this submission, I conclude that the title and summary are a fair and true statement of the proposed measure,” Attorney General Dave Yost (R) wrote in a letter to the petitioners on Wednesday.
“My certification of the title and abstract … should not be construed as an endorsement of the enforceability and constitutionality of the referendum petition,” he said. “My role, as executed here, is to determine whether the wording of the title and summary adequately advises the material components of a measure.”
The Ohioan-led referendum for Cannabis Choice wants it that way repealing key components of the bill the governor recently signed it Reduce the state’s voter-approved marijuana law and prohibit the sale of consumable hemp products outside of licensed cannabis dispensaries.
Yost said last month that an initial submission from the group contained “omissions and errors that would generally mislead a potential signer about the scope and effects of SB 56.” Then they presented an updated version.
Now the latest version of the band the proposal it has been accepted attorney general, efforts can begin to collect a total of around 250,000 signatures for the vote.
The office of Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and a senator who led the charge to pass SB 56 have had it He criticized the cannabis referendum campaign.
In essence, the proposed referendum would repeal the first three sections of the controversial bill DeWine signed into law in December, which he says is intended to combat the unregulated intoxicating hemp market. But the legislation would do more than limit the sale of cannabinoid products to dispensaries.
The law also criminalizes certain marijuana activities that were legalized under the 2023 ballot initiative, and would also remove anti-discrimination protections for cannabis users that were established under that law.
The governor also used his line veto powers to cancel a section of the bill that would have delayed the implementation of the hemp beverage ban.
Advocates and stakeholders vehemently protested the current legislation, arguing that it undermines the will of voters who approved cannabis legalization and would effectively wipe out the state’s hemp industry, as there is little hope that adults will choose hemp-based products over marijuana when they visit a dispensary.
The rejection spurred the newly introduced referendum, but the road to successfully blocking the law is narrow.
If activists reach the signature threshold by the deadline, which coincides with the same day the restrictive law goes into effect, SB 56 would not be enacted until voters have a chance to decide on the issue on the ballot.
A summary of the submitted referendum reads: “Sections 1, 2, and 3 of 56 Am. Sub. Sub. SB enact new provisions and amend and repeal existing provisions in the Ohio Revised Code relating to the regulation, criminalization, and taxation of cannabis products, such as the sale, use, possession, cultivation, licensing, classification, classification of marijuana, marijuana, and certain hemp products.”
“If the majority of voters vote not to approve Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Act, the approved amendments will not have any effect and the previous version of the affected laws will remain in force,” it says.
Advocates have expressed several concerns with the law, including that it would eliminate language in statutes that provide anti-discrimination protections to people who legally use cannabis. It includes safeguards against adverse action in the context of child custody rights, the ability to perform organ transplants, and professional licensing.
It would also recriminalize possession of marijuana from any source other than a state-licensed Ohio dispensary or possession of marijuana from a legal household. Because of this, people can be charged with a felony for carrying cannabis purchased from a legal Michigan store in the Michigan area.
It would also ban the smoking of cannabis in outdoor public places, such as bar patios, and ban landlords from vaping marijuana in rental properties. Violation of this latter policy, even if it involves vaping in a person’s backyard in a rental property, would be a misdemeanor offense.
The legislation would also replace what had been a regulatory framework for intoxicating hemp that the House passed with a broad ban on over-the-counter marijuana sales, following a recent federal move to recriminalize such products.
By law, hemp items containing more than 0.4 mg of total THC per container or containing synthetic cannabinoids cannot be sold outside of a licensed marijuana dispensary. That would be in line with the new federal hemp law included in an appropriations package signed by President Donald Trump.
The federal law banning most consumer hemp products has a one-year implementation window, however, and Ohio’s legislation appears likely to go into effect sooner. The Legislature approved a temporary hemp beverage regulatory program in Ohio until December 31, 2026, but the governor vetoed that provision.
The law also includes language that, if the federal government moves to legalize hemp with a higher THC content, the Ohio legislature intends to review that policy change and explore potential statewide reforms to regulate these products.
The bill’s signing came after DeWine issued emergency regulations banning the sale of hemp products for 90 dayswith instructions to the legislature to consider permanent regulations. It has been done by a county judge ordered the state to enforce that policy in response to a legal challenge.
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It’s Marijuana Time tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelic and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters by pledging at least $25/month, you’ll get access to our interactive maps, charts, and audio calendars so you never miss a development.
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Meanwhile, in September, the Ohio Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) released rules for the state’s proposed marijuana legalization legislation, establishing plans to update regulations on labeling and packaging requirements.
Merchants of Ohio It sold more than $1 billion worth of legal marijuana products in 2025, according to data from the State Department of Commerce (DOC).
In March, a survey of 38 municipalities by the Ohio State University (OSU) Moritz School of Law found local leaders were “unequivocally opposed” to earlier proposals which would have cut planned funding..
Meanwhile, in Ohio, adults can buy more than double the amount of marijuana starting in June than were under previous limits, state officials determined that the market could sustainably supply patients and adult users of medical cannabis.
The governor announced his desire individually in March Marijuana tax revenue to support police training, local jails and behavioral health services. He said funding for police training was a top priority, even though it was not included when voters approved it in 2023.
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Hoogendoorn has received the Bronze Medal in the first evaluation by EcoVadis. This recognition places the company in the top 35% of all organizations worldwide assessed for sustainability. Among companies evaluated in the last 12 months, Hoogendoorn ranks in the top 18%.
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A Florida bill to significantly reduce the fee for military veterans to obtain medical marijuana registry identification cards has cleared another legislative committee.
The House Health and Human Services Committee approved the measure by Reps. Susan Valdés (R) and Michelle Salzman (R) on a 22-0 vote Tuesday. This comes after the legislation cleared two other House panels and Senate legislation to reduce the cost of cannabis for veterans is also advancing.
If enacted into law, HB 887 would require honorably discharged veterans to pay $15 to obtain a medical cannabis card, down from the current $75 rate for most eligible patients.
The $15 charge will also apply to replacement cards as well as annual renewals.
To receive the reduced fee, veterans must provide the state Department of Health (DOH) with a copy of the discharge form, a US Veterans Affairs (VA) identification card, or a Florida driver’s license with a “veteran designation.”
The law will come into effect on July 1 of this year.
“Medical cannabis has shown promise in alleviating symptoms commonly experienced by our military veterans, such as managing chronic pain, easing the effects of PTSD, improving sleep, and most importantly reducing opioid addiction,” Valdés said before the final committee vote. “This bill will go a long way in reducing the financial barriers veterans face when getting a card.”
According to A invoice study, the reform “would have an unspecified negative fiscal impact on the DOH.” While there are currently 931,000 registered medical marijuana patients in Florida, “the number of veterans with an active medical marijuana use registry identification card is unknown” and thus “the amount of revenue reduction is unknown.”
That said, the analysis says the policy change “would have a positive fiscal impact on veterans who will see a $60 reduction in the cost of ID cards under the bill.”
Earlier this month, the Senate Health Policy Committee advanced a bill by Sen. Alexis Calatayud that would reduce medical cannabis registration fees for veterans to $15 and implement other reforms to expand access to medical marijuana.
Under that amended proposal, a physician would recommend a 70-day supply limit for cannabis, or a 35-day supply limit for marijuana smoking products for 10 supply limits. Under current law, they can recommend up to three 70-day supply limits for non-smoking cannabis and six 35-day supply limits for smoking marijuana.
The SB 1032 bill would also require doctors to evaluate patients to qualify for medical marijuana every 52 weeks, rather than the legal requirement of evaluations every 30 weeks.
Here’s an overview of some of the pending Florida marijuana bills:
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It’s Marijuana Time tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelic and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters by pledging at least $25/month, you’ll get access to our interactive maps, charts, and audio calendars so you never miss a development.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracking and become a Patreon supporter to gain access
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Meanwhile, a The Florida campaign seeking to put marijuana legalization on the ballot has another complication As the status of the 2026 signature drive remains in dispute. According to a new electoral law, the hundreds of thousands of activist signatures already collected this year will not be carried over to the 2028 cycle.
Smart & Safe Florida recently shipped An appeal of the annulment of about 71,000 signatures to the state Supreme Court For the 2026 order, for example.
The courts again agreed to close a separate case involving legal review of the ballot measure From Smart & Safe Florida, he has now been given another case challenging the cancellation of the earlier mass signature.
In December, advocates filed a lawsuit in Leon County Circuit Court alleging that Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) illegally ordered county election officials to invalidate about 42,000 signatures from so-called “inactive” voters and about 29,000 signatures collected by out-of-state petitioners.
That lawsuit came after another court upheld an earlier decision to strike with about 200,000 signatures, which the state said were invalid because the petition did not include the full text of the proposed initiative. The campaign challenged the legal interpretation, but declined to appeal the decision, confident it had collected enough signatures to settle the dispute.
Smart & Safe Florida has generally disputed the secretary of state’s signature count, confirming that the campaign has submitted more than 1.4 million petitions, hundreds of thousands more than the 880,062 valid signatures needed before voters.
In return for the signature, Florida’s attorney general and several businesses and anti-marijuana groups has asked the state Supreme Court to block the cannabis initiativecalling it a “fatal flaw” and unconstitutional.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Legal Foundation and Judge Frank Shepherd filed another joint document, stating that the parties “remain particularly vigilant about the abuse of the citizen initiative process by out-of-state interests who believe that Florida is another market and that the citizen initiative process is another means of exploiting that market.”
The Florida Chamber of Commerce has consistently opposed attempts to move forward with adult-use legalization, as well his polls have shown a majority in favor of reform.
The campaign fought several legal battles this cycle to get its initiative on the ballot.
Last month, the state attorney general’s office opened dozens of criminal investigations and subpoenaed Smart & Safe Florida and its contractors and subcontractors for records over alleged fraud related to the application effort.
Activists said in November they had collected more than a million signatures to put the cannabis measure on the ballot, but still He has sued state Supreme Court officials for delaying the certification processarguing that the review of ballot content and summary should have gone ahead several months ago when the initial signature threshold was reached. The state then he agreed to proceed with the processing.
The governor campaigned hard against an earlier version of the legalization proposal, which received a majority of voters in 2024, but was not enough to meet the 60 percent threshold needed to pass a constitutional amendment. Former Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) unsuccessfully challenged the earlier initiative in court.
Last March, however, two Democratic members of Congress representing Florida asked the federal government to investigate What they described as an “illegal diversion” of millions in state Medicaid funds Through a group with ties to DeSantis. The money was used to fight a popular ballot initiative the governor vehemently opposed that would have legalized adult marijuana.
The lawmakers’ letter alleges that a $10 million donation from a state legislative settlement was misappropriated to the Hope Florida Foundation, which later sent the money to two political nonprofits, and sent $8.5 million to the anti-Amendment 3 campaign.
The governor said last February The latest measure to legalize marijuana is in “big trouble” with the state Supreme Courthe announced that it would be blocked from going before the voters this year.
the last the initiative It was introduced to the secretary of state just months after initial versions failed in the November 2024 election, despite President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Smart & Safe Florida expressed optimism that the revised version would be successful in 2026. The campaign — which received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry players in the last election cycle, notably from multi-state operator Trulieve — introduced some changes in the new version that address criticisms of the 2024 push by opponents.
For example, it now specifically states that “smoking and vaping marijuana in any public place is prohibited.” Another section states that the legislature should adopt rules governing the “time, place and public manner of consuming marijuana.”
In 2023, the governor accurately predicted this The campaign’s 2024 cannabis measure would survive a legal challenge From the state attorney general. It’s not entirely clear why he thinks this version will face a different outcome.
Although there is uncertainty about how the state’s highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released last February It showed the overwhelming support of a bipartisan voter for reform— 67% of Florida voters support legalization, including 82% of Democrats, 66% of independents and 55% of Republicans.
Max Jackson’s photo.
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A 20-acre cannabis farm near Upper Lake went up for sale last week for $599,000, according to a recent Zillow listing. The property has a 10-year occupancy permit and 43,560 square feet of permitted cultivation, for a total of 78,550 square feet of approved growing area, according to the listing. The infrastructure described in the publication includes a well, a security gate, water storage tanks, parking and a 30 x 75 meter barn.
The photos show growing houses and outdoor plants. Lux Places real estate agent Forest Nikola Elie promoted the listing on social media.
“Grow Big. Live Close. Win Fast!”, he wrote in a post on a local Facebook group. “Whether you are expanding your operation or looking for an income producing private home, this property is move in ready.”
Read more at The Mendocino Voice
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