Ohio — Only approved Cannabis In Approved Containers

Ohio Just Criminalized Your Pill Bottle: How “THC Reform” Became a Lobbyist Giveaway

Remember when 57% of Ohio voters said “yes” to legal weed in November 2023?

Apparently the Ohio Senate didn’t get the memo.

On December 9, 2025, lawmakers rammed through Senate Bill 56, a 300+ page “fix” to Issue 2 that Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to sign any day now. They marketed it as closing the “delta-8 loophole” and keeping kids safe. What it actually does is turn thousands of ordinary Ohioans into felons for things that were perfectly legal last week.

Let’s break down the new crimes they just invented:

1. The “Original Container” Felony

Buy a pack of gummies from an Ohio dispensary? Congratulations, you now have to carry them in that exact crinkly child-proof bag forever.
Dump them into a weekly pill organizer so you don’t accidentally eat five at once? That’s now a criminal offense.
Put an open edible in your center console instead of the glove box? Open-container charge, just like a beer.

2. The Michigan Run Ban

Drive to Ann Arbor, buy cheaper weed, and come home? You just committed a new Ohio crime, even though federal agents couldn’t care less. The bill explicitly outlaws bringing legal cannabis across state lines, guaranteeing every Ohio dollar stays with Ohio’s politically connected dispensary owners.

3. The “I Vaped in My Apartment” Eviction

Landlords can now ban all cannabis consumption, even vaping or edibles in your own home. Issue 2 said they couldn’t. Lawmakers just erased that voter protection.

4. The “Known User” Traffic Stop

Cops can now pull you over simply because you’re in their database as a medical patient or registered grower. No smell, no swerving, no problem — just “reasonable suspicion” based on your legal status.

Who Wrote This Thing, Anyway?

The same big cultivators and dispensary chains that spent millions shaping Issue 2’s rollout, that’s who. They get to keep their monopoly while every gas-station delta-8 gummy and every Michigander’s cheaper ounce gets criminalized.

Meanwhile, alcohol lobbyists made sure breweries and liquor stores can keep selling THC seltzers until at least 2026. Funny how that worked out.

The Quote That Says It All

State Sen. Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), the bill’s sponsor, claims none of this will actually be enforced.
Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) had the perfect two-word response:
“Bullshit.”

She’s right. Give police new tools and someone will use them, disproportionately against Black and brown Ohioans who already get targeted at triple the rate of white users.

What You Can Do Right Now

Call Governor DeWine’s office at (614) 466-3555 and tell him to veto S.B. 56.
A veto would send this lobbyist wish-list back to the drawing board and force lawmakers to respect what voters actually passed.

Because if this becomes law, “legal weed” in Ohio will mean:

• Buy only from our corporate friends
• Store it exactly how we say
• Or become a criminal

That’s not reform. That’s a rigged game.

Welcome to legal cannabis, Ohio style.