Details On Changes And Penalties Included In Ohio S.B.56 Cannabis Bill Including Public Use

COLUMBUS – Ohio lawmakers passed a bill last week that would ban intoxicating hemp products and make changes to the state’s marijuana laws by a 52-34 to margin sending S.B. 56 to the senate

The Ohio Senate has session scheduled for Dec. 9 and Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said he is confident the Senate will pass the bill.

The bill revises the state’s adult-use and medical marijuana laws passed by voters in 2023, primarily by consolidating the regulatory framework, imposing stricter public safety and packaging rules, and creating a regulated pathway for intoxicating hemp products.

Key Provisions

The bill, which is currently in a conference committee to resolve differences between versions passed by the House and Senate, includes the following provisions:

Merged Programs The adult-use and medical marijuana programs would be merged under the Division of Cannabis Control (DCC).
Public Safety The bill bans public smoking and intoxication, clarifies OVI prohibitions, and restricts home cultivation in certain locations.
Product Regulation It reduces maximum THC potency for extracts and concentrates, prohibits child-attractive packaging, and requires advertising to be a certain distance from schools and churches.
Social Equity and Expungement The bill eliminates the voter-approved Cannabis Social Equity and Jobs Fund and program, but permits expungement for prior marijuana possession convictions.
Taxation and Revenue The current 10% excise tax on adult-use marijuana sales is maintained, and a portion of the revenue is allocated to a Host Community Cannabis Fund.
Hemp and THC Beverages The sale of intoxicating hemp products is limited to licensed dispensaries, and the manufacture and sale of low-dose and higher-dose cannabinoid beverages are authorized with specific restrictions on where they can be consumed or purchased.

Under Ohio Senate Bill 56 (SB 56), the penalties for public marijuana use or smoking in a vehicle are a minor misdemeanor for a first offense, with significantly enhanced penalties for repeat offenses or if the use occurs as a vehicle passenger.

Public Use Penalties

Smoking or vaporizing marijuana is explicitly prohibited in public places, with use permitted only in a private residence. A violation is generally considered a minor misdemeanor punishable by:
A fine of up to $150.
No jail time for a first offense.
In-Vehicle Use Penalties
Smoking, combusting, or vaporizing marijuana in a motor vehicle is prohibited for both the driver and passengers. The specific penalties depend on the person’s role (driver vs. passenger) and the number of prior offenses.

Driver Penalties (Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated – OVI)

Drivers found to be operating under the influence of cannabis are subject to Ohio’s existing OVI laws, which are generally first-degree misdemeanors with severe penalties that increase with subsequent offenses. Penalties can include:

A mandatory three-day jail term or completion of a driver’s intervention program.
Fines ranging from $375 to $1,075.
A mandatory driver’s license suspension of one to three years.
Passenger Penalties (Smoking/Vaping in Vehicle)
SB 56 applies elevated penalties to passengers who smoke or vaporize marijuana in a vehicle:

First-time offender: A first-degree misdemeanor, including a mandatory three-day jail term (additional term up to six months), a fine of $375 to $1,075, and a driver’s license suspension of up to one year.
Second-time offender (within ten years): A first-degree misdemeanor, including a mandatory ten-day jail term (additional term up to six months), a fine of $525 to $1,625, and a driver’s license suspension of three months to two years.
Third or subsequent felony violation: A third-degree felony, including a mandatory prison term of one to five years, a fine of $1,350 to $10,500, and a driver’s license suspension of two to ten years.

For transporting marijuana in a vehicle, the product must be in its original, unopened packaging or stored in the trunk (or an area not readily accessible from the interior if there is no trunk) to avoid a minor misdemeanor offense.

Many Changes To S.B. 56 Since October

The Ohio House passed Ohio S.B. 56 in October with a bipartisan vote and the Ohio Senate voted unanimously one week later not to concur with changes made to the bill, sending it to conference committee.

After the bill was sent to conference committee at the end of October, changes were made to hemp at the federal level.

Congress recently voted to ban products that contain 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container earlier this month when they voted to reopen the government.

Previously, the 2018 Farm Bill said hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3% THC.

There is a one-year implementation delay for the federal hemp ban, but states can create their own regulatory framework before then.

“On the hemp side, what the the federal government did certainly influenced what we needed to do,” Huffman said.

“When it comes to intoxicating hemp products, we essentially cut to the chase,” said Ohio Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville.

“We had already whittled down most retailers where those could be sold. That is going to kick in. They’re going to have the 90 days of runway that’s in the bill. After that, all those products are either going to be sold in a marijuana dispensary or they won’t be allowed to be sold.”

Ohio Intoxicating Hemp Ban Could Take Effect In March

If the Ohio Senate passes Ohio S.B. 56 in December and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs the bill into law before the new year, Ohio’s intoxicating hemp could take effect as soon as March.

Ohio S.B. 56 allows five milligram THC beverages to be manufactured, distributed and sold until Dec. 31, 2026.

“There’s aspirational language in here that the legislative leaders have agreed on that says, if the federal government takes action and makes (THC beverages) legal again, that it’s our intent that we would come back and have legislation to create a structure and have legal THC beverages again,” Stewart said.

On Oct. 8, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a 90-day executive order that bans the sale of intoxicating hemp products that started on Oct.14, but a Franklin County Court of Common judge has placed a temporary restraining order on DeWine’s ban until Dec. 2.

On the marijuana side, the bill would reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, cap THC levels in adult-use flower to 35%, and prohibit smoking in most public places.

Part of the probable cause portions were removed from the bill, but some of it still remains.

“More of the probable cause (is) if you’re driving down the road and you’re across the yellow line, if you appear to be intoxicated in other ways, that is the probable cause,” Huffman said.

Ohio S.B. 56 would give 36% of adult-use marijuana sale revenue to municipalities and townships that have recreational marijuana dispensaries.

“We’re glad to see this legislation release the long-promised Host Community Fund dollars,” Ohio Cannabis Coalition Executive Director David Bowling said in a statement. “This cannabis tax revenue is an important way our licensed operators give back to the communities where they live and work.”

The bill also maintains the 10% tax rate on recreational marijuana and keeps home grow the same at six plants per adult and 12 per residence.

Ohioans passed a citizen-initiated law to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 with 57% of the vote, and sales started in August 2024.

Ohio lawmakers can change the law since it passed as a citizen initiative not a constitutional amendment, something they have been trying to do since late 2023.