A petition for referendum, which would challenge a ban on intoxicating hemp products signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine in December, has been certified by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

The proposal aims to repeal sections of Senate Bill 56, "which authorizes changes to the state's homegrown, medical- and adult-use marijuana laws," according to a statement from the AG. 

Ohio law dictates that the state's attorney general must determine "whether a petition's title and summary are fair and truthful representations of the proposed referendum" before signatures can be gathered.

Yost said the updated petition does meet the standard of "fair and truthful representations"; Yost rejected a previous version of the petition in January.

"My certification. . . should not be construed as an affirmation of the enforceability and constitutionality of the referendum petition," Yost wrote in the letter certifying the petition.

Ohioans for Cannabis Choice, the group sponsoring the petition must now collect thousands of signatures from registered voters in at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. In each county the number of signatures must equal "at least 3 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election," Yost stated. In total, across the state, the number of signatures "must equal 6 percent of that same vote total."

"We are ready to hit the streets and begin collecting 250,000 valid signatures because we know voters will say no to SB 56 because it is government overreach. The people spoke in 2023 when they overwhelmingly voted to legalize cannabis, and we are going to allow them to speak once again this November by voting no on SB 56," Joseph Ellwood, a petitioner and hemp farmer in Tuscarawas County said in a statement from Ohioans for Cannabis Choice.

The Ohio Cannabis Coalition (OHCANN) released a statement of its own, opposing the group's efforts against Senate Bill 56. 

"SB 56 upholds the will of Ohio voters by preserving a safe, regulated adult-use cannabis market while closing dangerous loopholes that allowed untested, intoxicating hemp products and out-of-state marijuana to flood Ohio shelves," OHCANN Executive Director David Bowling stated.

The coalition also alleges that the petition campaign is being funded by "intoxicating hemp interests that profit from the spread of misinformation" rather than "licensed cannabis businesses."

If all 250,000 signatures are collected, a referendum will be called and Senate Bill 56 will be put to a statewide vote.

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