Ohio Attorney General rejects summary language of Senate Bill 56 referendum
The Ohio Attorney General's Office announced in a news release on Tuesday that the office has rejected the petition language of a proposed referendum targeting Senate Bill 56.
Senate Bill 56, which was passed by the Ohio Senate in 2025, focuses on changes to marijuana laws passed in 2023.
The bill was signed into law by Ohio Governor DeWine on December 12, 2025, and would become effective on March 20, 2026.
Advocacy group Ohioans for Cannabis Control issued a news release on December 29, 2025, outlining that the group had filed signatures for a referendum to allow Ohioans to say "no" to changes to the cannabis industry in the state. The group claims that S.B. 56 is a "slap in the face to Ohioans who overwhelmingly voted to support cannabis legalization in 2023."
A referendum, such as the one proposed by the Ohioans for Cannabis Control submitted, is a process that would "stay a law recently enacted by the General Assembly" so the law could be considered by voters to be approved or rejected.
Essentially, if the proposed referendum were to pass, the law would not have gone into effect until the referendum was decided on by voters.
However, the Ohio Attorney General has rejected the proposed referendum, stating that the petition summary submitted is not a fair and truthful representation of the referendum.
"Upon review of the summary, we identified omissions and misstatements that, as a whole, would mislead a potential signer as to the scope and effect of S.B. 56," said Attorney General Dave Yost in a response letter to the petitioners.
In response, the Ohioans for Cannabis Control issued a response to the Attorney General's decision.
"We're disappointed, but not surprised or deterred. Ohio Attorney General David Yost is just a speed bump in the process. We are going to fix the language, collect an additional 1,000 signatures and not slow down," said Dennis Willard, a spokesperson for Ohioans for Cannabis Choice.
Now, the Ohioans for Cannabis Control group is allowed to make necessary corrections and collect 1,000 more signatures.
To certify the petition and move the proposed referendum to the November 3 ballot later in the year, the petitioners must receive certification from the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the Secretary of State.
By receiving the certifications from both, the petitioners would have proven that the language of the referendum is a "fair and truthful" representation of the proposed changes to the law and that enough signatures have been gathered.
If both offices certify the petition, the petitioners may then begin the process of collecting the 248,092 signatures necessary to move the petition to the General Election ballot on November 3, 2026.
