Ohio group collecting signatures for cannabis ballot initiative

By Mark Richardson

Ohio cannabis advocates are gathering signatures for a ballot initiative to overturn a law they said would limit access to legal marijuana.

Ohioans for Cannabis Choice want a referendum on the November ballot to roll back Senate Bill 56, which the group said "re-criminalizes" cannabis by creating new offenses. Ohio voters legalized the use of recreational marijuana in 2023.

Dennis Willard, spokesperson for the group, said the bill threatens the livelihood of thousands of hardworking Ohioans.

"People are really angry. They're really angry," Willard explained. "We've had more than 5,000 people go to our website and they have signed up to either pledge to sign the petition, collect signatures, or be a business that hosts signature collections."

Willards pointed out the bill creates new offenses, including transporting cannabis purchased out of state and carrying it improperly. Backers of the bill said it does not repeal legal marijuana but adds common sense regulations to its use. The group has until March 19 to gather almost 250,000 signatures to get the issue on the November ballot.

Willard noted consumers use the products for sleep, pain relief, post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer-related symptoms, as well as recreation. By most measures, legalized marijuana has been a financial success, with sales totaling more than $836 million in 2025.

"What we're seeing here is the governor and anti-cannabis lawmakers were really angry at voters for legalizing cannabis in 2023," Willard contended. "They didn't like it then, they don't like it now."

Willard added the legalization of cannabis has created more than 6,000 small businesses in Ohio, each with multiple employees, as well as hundreds of growers and other related industries. He argued backers of the bill want to turn back the clock.

"What they're trying to do is limit this as much as possible," Willard stressed. "We believe this is government overstep and a slap in the face of voters who said we want cannabis to be legal in Ohio."