On Nov. 7 Ohio voters approved an initiated statute that authorizes limited homegrown marijuana plants and the use of recreational marijuana for Ohioans 21 years of age and over with exceptions.
This is the first major change to the Ohio marijuana law since 2016, when the Ohio legislature passed and an enacted a medical marijuana statute, and then the State of Ohio created the Medical Marijuana Control Program and administered a systematic lottery for dispensaries throughout the state.
For the past seven years, Ohioans with medical needs have had the opportunity to get a medical marijuana card and have legal access to marijuana in most communities. Dayton area businesses have also changed since 2016. As workforce demands increased, employers have been looking for innovative ways to recruit talent and with the legalization of medical marijuana; a number of businesses have chosen not to test for marijuana.
However, there are businesses in the Dayton area that don’t have the same flexibility, as they must continue to prohibit any marijuana usage, because it is still illegal on the federal level, even after Issue 2 becomes law on Dec. 7.
The voter approved Issue 2 contained similar business protections that were included in the medical marijuana law. Employers do not have to accommodate marijuana usage, they can still maintain drug free workplace/zero-tolerance policies and it allows employers to take just cause action against employees for marijuana usage. Even with these…
