The governor of Ohio has a message for critics of a law rolling back the state’s marijuana market and criminalizing intoxicating hemp products: Stop “whining.”
As a campaign behind a referendum to block certain provisions of the cannabis roll-back law gets to work, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) was asked about the issue and what it would mean if they ultimately proved successful.
“I think the proponents should be happy with their victory at the polls, instead of now going back and whining about something the legislature has done, which frankly I think is very consistent with what the average voter was thinking when they went in to vote,” the governor told News 5 Cleveland.
“I think we’re very consistent with what voters intended,” he said.
The proposed referendum, led by Ohioans for Cannabis Choice, was recently cleared by the state attorney general’s office following a review of the title and summary. That came after activists revised an initial version that was deemed affirmatively misleading.
When the governor said that “proponents” of the referendum should take the win and accept the policy changes that are being implemented under SB 56, he wasn’t necessarily referring to the broader marijuana industry, as many stakeholders support reining in the consumable hemp market.
“You see this gray market that pops up selling dangerous drugs to children and all other Ohio consumers,” Adrienne Robbins of the Ohio Cannabis Coalition said.
But some hemp industry operatives, consumers and advocates view the law’s enactment as an example of legislative overreach.
“We elect officials to represent us and represent what we want to see happen,” Scotty Hunter, whose brewery Urban Artifact sells THC-infused beverages, said . “We don’t elect officials to tell us how to behave, how to act, what to consume. I think they’re out of line, quite honestly.”
“The fact that the legislature is okay with eliminating 6,000 businesses, a billion dollars per year in economic activity, it’s crazy to me—especially when so many Ohioans are struggling,” he said. “This is an opportunity for so many small businesses, and now, you’re gonna make the economic situation even tougher.”
“It’s about the freedom of choice and the government not being overbearing in what people can do day to day in their everyday life,” Hunter said. “And SB 56 completely tramples all over that.”
The governor’s office and a senator who led the charge to pass the bill have previously criticized the cannabis referendum campaign.
In general, the proposal would repeal the first three core sections of a controversial bill that DeWine signed in December that he says is intended to crack down on the unregulated intoxicating hemp market. But the legislation would do more than restrict the sale of cannabinoid products to dispensaries.
The law also recriminalizes certain marijuana activity that was legalized under the ballot initiative voters approved in 2023, and it’d additionally remove anti-discrimination protections for cannabis consumers that were enacted under that law.
The governor additionally used his line-item veto powers to cancel a section of the bill that would have delayed the implementation of the ban on hemp beverages.
Advocates and stakeholders strongly protested the now-enacted legislation, arguing that it undermines the will of voters who approved cannabis legalization and would effectively eradicate the state’s hemp industry, as there are low expectations that adults will opt for hemp-based products over marijuana when they visit a dispensary.
The pushback inspired the newly filed referendum—but the path 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 is to take effect, SB 56 would not be implemented until voters got a chance to decide on the issue at the ballot.
A summary of the submitted referendum states that “Sections 1, 2, and 3 of Am. Sub. S. B. No. 56 enact new provisions and amend and repeal existing provisions of the Ohio Revised Code that relate to the regulation, criminalization, and taxation of cannabis products, such as the sale, use, possession, cultivation, license, classification, transport, and manufacture of marijuana and certain hemp products.”
“If a majority of the voters vote to not approve Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the Act, then the enacted changes will not take effect and the prior version of the affected laws will remain in effect,” it says.
Advocates have flagged a series of concerns with the law, pointing out, for example, that it would eliminate language in statute providing anti-discrimination protections for people who lawfully use cannabis. That includes protections meant to prevent adverse actions in the context of child custody rights, the ability to qualify for organ transplants and professional licensing.
It would also recriminalize possessing marijuana from any source that isn’t a state-licensed dispensary in Ohio or from a legal homegrow. As such, people could be charged with a crime for carrying cannabis they bought at a legal retailer in neighboring Michigan.
Additionally, it would ban smoking cannabis at outdoor public locations such as bar patios—and it would allow landlords to prohibit vaping marijuana at rented homes. Violating that latter policy, even if it involves vaping in a person’s own backyard at a rental home, would constitute a misdemeanor offense.
The legislation would also replace what had been a proposed regulatory framework for intoxicating hemp that the House had approved with a broad prohibition on sales outside marijuana dispensaries following a recent federal move to recriminalize such products.
Under the law, hemp items with more than 0.4 mg of total THC per container, or those containing synthetic cannabinoids, could no longer be sold outside of a licensed marijuana dispensary setting. That would align with a recently enacted federal hemp law included in an appropriations package signed by President Donald Trump.
The federal law imposing a ban on most consumable hemp products has a one-year implementation window, however, and it appears the Ohio legislation would take effect sooner. As passed by the legislature, a temporary regulatory program for hemp beverages would have stayed in place in Ohio until December 31, 2026, but that provision was vetoed by the governor.
The law also includes language stipulating that, if the federal government moves to legalize hemp with higher THC content, it’s the intent of the Ohio legislature to review that policy change and consider potential state-level reforms to regulate such products.
The bill signing came months after DeWine issued emergency rules prohibiting the sale of intoxicating hemp products for 90 days, with instructions to the legislature to consider permanent regulations. A county judge has enjoined the state from enforcing that policy in response to a legal challenge.
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Meanwhile, in September, the Ohio Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) filed proposed rules to build upon the state’s marijuana legalization law, laying out plans to update regulations on labeling and packaging requirements.
Ohio retailers 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’s (OSU) Moritz College of Law found that local leaders were “unequivocally opposed” to earlier proposals that would have stripped the planned funding.
Meanwhile in Ohio, adults as of June are able to buy more than double the amount of marijuana than they were under previous limits, with state officials determining that the market can sustainably supply both medical cannabis patients and adult consumers.
The governor in March separately announced his desire to reallocate marijuana tax revenue to support police training, local jails and behavioral health services. He said funding police training was a top priority, even if that wasn’t included in what voters passed in 2023.
Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.
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