Ohio Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Bill That Creates A Process To Expunge Past Convictions

“If you smoked a joint when you were 18, in 2002, in your 40s, you should not have barriers to housing, or employment, or public services.”

By Jake Zuckerman, Signal Cleveland

This story was originally published by Signal Cleveland. Sign up for their free newsletters at SignalCleveland.org/subscribe.

Some of the tens of thousands of Ohioans dogged by dated marijuana possession offenses could clear their names under new legislation passed by the State House on Wednesday.

The bill would allow expungement, a legal process that erases prior convictions from one’s record, which can impair housing and job applications even years later. It only applies for crimes of possessing less than 2.5 ounces of marijuana, which voters legalized in 2023.

The expungement provision passed within larger legislation on a bipartisan 87-8 vote that sets new rules on the sale of recreational marijuana and so-called “intoxicating hemp” marijuana knockoffs.

More than 16,000 possession arrests per year in Ohio

For most of the 21st century, an average of 16,000 Ohioans would be arrested each year (not necessarily convicted), according to FBI data. The numbers began to fall in 2019, when Ohio first allowed for the medicinal use of marijuana, followed by recreational use in 2023.

While President Joe Biden in 2022 issued a blanket pardon for federal marijuana offenses, state level convictions have festered since then. The House-passed bill paves the way to expungement for many of those with convictions lingering on their records.

“If you smoked a joint when you were 18, in 2002, in your 40s, you should not have barriers to housing, or employment, or public services, because you got in trouble when you were 18 for something that is completely legal,” said Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, the ranking House Democrat, in a floor speech Wednesday.

How to apply for expungement under the bill

Expungements didn’t go as far as some Democratic lawmakers and the ACLU wanted. Rep. Desiree Tims, a Dayton Democrat, said in committee the bill should have an automatic expungement mechanism, or at least a system to notify affected people that the new option is available. Plus, the application comes with a $50 fee that some can’t afford, she said.

Rep. Josh Williams, a Toledo Republican and attorney who regularly champions expungement policy, said a recent Ohio Supreme Court decision effectively tied lawmakers hands on the issue and requires them to leave judges some discretion. However, he said SB56 gives defendants every advantage possible while still likely passing court muster.

“I think we tilted the scales in favor of the defendant as much as we could,” he said in an interview.

Legislative leaders indicated Wednesday that House and Senate members will need to negotiate a final package to send to Gov. Mike DeWine (R) for his signature. This means the legislation, including the expungement language, could change dramatically from here.

Ohio law already allows for expungement for a broad stretch of offenses. However, the new process laid out in SB 56 is tailor-made around marijuana cases. And according to House Finance Chairman Brian Stewart, a Republican and key negotiator, a judge is largely forced to grant an application unless the county prosecutor objects. Williams added that the marijuana-specific filings are likely cheaper, and the legal test is weighted toward favoring the defendant.

To get a conviction expunged, applicants would need to submit paperwork in the courthouse they were convicted in to show that their offense stemmed from 2.5 ounces of marijuana or less.

The legislation gives county prosecutors, who run in partisan elections every four years, broad discretion to file objections for any reason. From there, judges would have 45 to 90 days to hold a hearing and weigh the two sides against each other.