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Angela Hay
On Dec. 19, Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation making significant changes to cannabis and hemp sales in Ohio, imposing new restrictions on the legalization voters approved in 2023.  For now, adults in Cleveland can still legally use marijuana, but businesses and individual users will need to adjust to new constraints.
What is Senate Bill 56?
Senate Bill 56, sponsored by Sen. Stephen A. Huffman, R-Tipp City, revises Ohio’s adult-use marijuana, medical marijuana, and intoxicating hemp rules, mandating far-reaching changes for the industry.
The bill establishes a new Division of Cannabis Control to serve as the single regulatory agency for cannabis businesses and products. Beyond simply licensing and disciplining businesses, this division holds the power to define legal products, set packaging standards, and prohibit dispensaries from offering sales incentives like gifts or samples.
Additionally, the law caps the number of dispensaries at 400 statewide, requiring a one-mile gap between locations and a 500-foot buffer from schools, playgrounds, and churches. Finally, intoxicating hemp products such as THC drinks and Delta-8 vapes are reclassified as marijuana. This move restricts sales to authorized dispensaries—removing an income stream for gas stations and convenience stores—and aligns Ohio with federal law H.R. 5371, passed in November 2025.
On a restorative note, the legislation also permits individuals with marijuana-related misdemeanors to file for expungement of those offenses from their criminal records.
How to use Marijuana legally after SB56 goes Into Effect
For adults 21 and older, staying on the right side of the law under SB 56 comes down to a few core practices:
  • Buy only from licensed Ohio dispensaries.  Consumers are prohibited from using cannabis products from other states, purchased from unlicensed sellers, or received as gifts.​
  • Use only in private spaces.  This new law prohibits all public use of marijuana, regardless of whether it’s smoked, vaped, or eaten.  It also allows landlords to restrict marijuana usage at their properties.  The only legal place to use marijuana is one’s own personal residence.
  • Keep products in original, labeled packaging.  Cannabis products must be stored in their original child-resistant containers.  This allows law enforcement to determine if the product was purchased legally and meets state standards.
  • Only store opened cannabis products and paraphernalia in the trunk of your car.  Sealed products may be stored anywhere in the car, but open packages must be kept in the trunk.  In vehicles without a trunk, they must be secured in the area farthest from the driver.
  • Abide by home‑grow limits.  Ohio residents are allowed a maximum of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence.  These plants must be grown in a secure place that can’t be accessed by people under 21 nor be seen from a public space using “normal unaided vision.”  Plants can only be grown at the grower’s primary residence, and the grower cannot sell or give cannabis products to another person.
  • Don’t purchase cannabis for anyone under 21 years of age.
  • Always drive sober.  Driving under the influence of marijuana is prohibited by Ohio’s OVI and drugged-driving laws, no matter how the marijuana was purchased.  Both drivers and passengers are prohibited from smoking in vehicles.
How People Are fighting the Law
As soon as SB 56 was signed into law, a coalition of activists, hemp businesses, and cannabis advocates began an effort to repeal major parts of it. Ohioans for Cannabis Choice (OCC) filed initial paperwork for a statewide referendum that would ask voters to overturn key sections of SB 56.  That referendum would take place in November 2026, and SB 56 provisions could be frozen while that process takes place.
OCC organizers criticized the bill as “government overreach” and expressed concerns about the economic effect of the bill on small businesses.
Once the initial paperwork is approved, activists have 90 days from the bill’s signing to collect and submit 248,092 signatures.
Unless referendum efforts succeed, these new restrictions will go into effect on March 20.  Ohioans who want to avoid marijuana-related legal trouble should buy from licensed dispensaries, stay within public limits, and avoid public use as the political fight over legal marijuana continues.
Angela Hay is a journalist and body positive movement instructor in Columbus, Ohio.
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The Cleveland Observer remains committed to producing journalism that is accurate, community-centered, and reflective of Cleveland’s diverse voices. As part of our editorial workflow, this article was reviewed using the TCO Editorial Prompt AI Style Guide, a structured tool that supports clarity, fact-checking standards, community impact framing, sourcing, and overall readability. All recommendations generated by the AI are reviewed, verified, and approved by a human content provider before publication.
Human editors always make the final decisions.

Angela Hay is a Professional Writing & Journalism student at Capital University, graduating in December 2025. She brings direct experience from a mentorship with the university's Marketing and Communications...