Ohio's cannabis industry is in court, in crisis, and in the wrong hands. This week on Ohio Cannabis Report, we break down the lawsuits piling up against the state's biggest operators, expose how the Social Equity and Jobs Fund got hijacked before it ever paid out, and dig into how SB 56 gutted the hemp industry overnight — wiping out craft growers and small businesses who built this market from the ground up.

Let's be clear: Ohio voters passed Issue 2 for the people. What we got instead is an industry increasingly run by multi-state operators, well-connected insiders, and everybody except the communities and small growers who fought for legalization in the first place.

We're naming names, breaking down the legal filings, and asking the question nobody in Columbus wants to answer: who is this industry actually for?

Ohio voters spoke loud and clear in November 2023 when they passed Issue 2, legalizing adult-use cannabis. But now, the Ohio Republican-controlled legislature is fighting back — and they're not pulling punches.

In this episode of the Ohio Cannabis Report, we break down Senate Bill 56 — the GOP's sweeping rewrite of Ohio's adult use marijuana law. We're talking lower possession limits, tighter restrictions on home grows, a restructured tax framework, and new powers handed to local governments to opt out of the cannabis economy entirely.

Is this a commonsense cleanup of the law — or a direct assault on the will of Ohio voters? We dig into the details, talk to advocates on the front lines, and ask the hard question: when the people vote yes, does the legislature have the right to say no?

If you live, work, or do business in Ohio's cannabis space, this is the episode you can't afford to miss.

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Ohio voters said YES to cannabis freedom with 57% of the vote in November 2023. Then the Ohio General Assembly rewrote the rules — and State Senator Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) has been fighting back ever since.

Gerald Moore Jr. of the Ohio Cannabis Report sits down with Senator DeMora for a candid, unfiltered conversation about what SB 56 really does to the law Ohioans voted for, why Republicans in Columbus refused every Democratic amendment to protect voters' intent, and what must happen before March 20, 2026 — the day SB 56 takes effect — to put this back in the hands of the people.

Senator DeMora said it plainly after SB 56 passed: "Marijuana is now dead in Ohio. My Democratic colleagues and I tried to make this a bipartisan piece of legislation that would maintain the will of the voters, but clearly the majority party is not interested. All Ohioans have to look forward to is higher prices, lower quality, and their tax money being funneled towards tax cuts for the wealthy and private school vouchers." State

This is that conversation — and it's one every Ohio cannabis voter needs to hear.

🔥 In this episode:

• How SB 56 guts the Cannabis Social Equity & Jobs Fund voters approved
• New criminal penalties for conduct Issue 2 made legal
• Home grow slashed, potency capped, out-of-state cannabis criminalized
• Anti-discrimination protections stripped — your job, custody & organ transplant eligibility now at risk
• Why DeMora called out the bill on the Senate floor, saying "there's so much in this bill that has changed from what we passed here — a lot of it not for the better" ACLU of Ohio
• The No On SB 56 Referendum — 248,092 signatures, one deadline
• What Democrats tried to do and why every amendment was blocked
• NORML's position that the bill is "a slap in the face to the millions of Ohioans who voted in favor of Issue 2" MedicateOH — and what comes next

⏰ SB 56 takes effect March 20, 2026. The referendum is the only thing that stops it. Sign the petition. Share this episode. Ohio voted for this freedom — let's make sure it sticks.

🔗 Sign the petition: ohioforcannabischoice.com🎧 Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart📰 Newsletter: ohiocannabisreport.substack.com📺 Watch on YouTube: Ohio Cannabis Report

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