(Un)Checked Power of the Ohio General Assembly: Can Legislators Override Voters’ Will on Marijuana Reform?

When Ohio legalized recreational marijuana in November 2023, it did so through a citizen-initiated statute known as Issue 2 that was approved by voters by a margin of 57% to 43%.  Though a voter-approved constitutional amendment cannot be altered by regular legislation, a citizen-initiated statute allows the Ohio General Assembly to make changes to the voter-approved law by passing follow-up legislation. Since passage of Issue 2, the Ohio General Assembly has introduced multiple bills, including the biannual budget bill, that would significantly change or eliminate certain provisions of the original statute. But some legal scholars contend the Ohio Constitution speaks to what changes can be made, arguing that the legislative power to amend allows only changes that “facilitate” the initiative without limiting or restricting it.

Please join us for a webinar on the various changes Ohio lawmakers have proposed to the adult-use marijuana program, and whether changes might be subject to legal challenge.

Panelists
Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative, University of Wisconsin Law School
Karen O’Keefe, Director of State Policies, Marijuana Policy Project/MPP Foundation
Patrick Higgins, Policy Counsel, ACLU of Ohio

Moderator
Douglas Berman, Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law; Executive Director, Drug Enforcement and Policy Center; The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law