President Donald Trump

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

WASHINGTON, D.C.– President Donald Trump (pictured) on Thursday signed an executive order reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, putting it in the same group as common, over-the-counter pain relievers like Tylenol and Ibuprofen.

Marijuana is now a Schedule I drug, down from a Schedule III drug, the most restrictive federal category that includes heroin and LSD. And the new change will have the most impact in states that outlaw marijuana. Ohio, which includes the majority Black city of Cleveland, is not one of them since voters sanctioned marijuana use at the ballot box in 2023.

Pushed by Northeast Ohio community activists, Ohio voters approved the Issue 2 referendum that made recreational marijuana legal in November 2023, alongside the Issue 1 referendum that made access to abortion legal. But Republican state lawmakers have worked hard to try to dismantle Issue 2, including passing a bill last week, Senate Bill 56, to recriminalize the drug, a move that has angered Democratic state lawmakers who are in the minority in Ohio's Senate and House of Representatives.

Whether SB 56, which Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine supported and signed into law, will pass constitutional muster if challenged remains to be seen.

"Democrats have remained very consistent over the last few years since Issue 2 passed. We wanted to respect the will of voters, address unsafe marketing practices–especially towards children– and fund and include expungement," said Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio, a Democrat whose 23rd state Senate district includes most of Cleveland. "Unfortunately, Republicans decided to recriminalize conduct that Ohioans voted to legalize, and redirect cannabis revenue away from Issue 2's intended purposes, including social equity, substance-abuse treatment, and criminal-justice reform."

SB 56 drastically alters key provisions of the recreational marijuana law passed by Ohio voters in 2023 and re-criminalizes conduct voters chose to legalize. The bill will:

• Impose stricter limits on THC by reducing the current allowable limits.
• Make it easier to characterize adult-to-adult transfers as illegal trafficking, thus restricting the ability to share cannabis with another adult;
• Give the Division of Cannabis Control the ability to make formerly legal paraphernalia criminal;
• Criminalize the possession and use of out-of-state cannabis, making lawful travellers newly subject to prosecution;
• Expand the authority for landlords to prohibit cannabis consumption and home cultivation;
• Roll back protections against adverse actions in housing, employment, and other areas; and
• Reduce the number of individuals who may have their records expunged for prior marijuana-possession offenses.