COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohioans who are 21-years-old and up are now able to purchase recreational marijuana this week, now that 98 medicinal dispensaries have been cleared with recreational licenses to sell.

What You Need To Know

  • Last November, Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio

  • Ninety-eight medicinal dispensaries got the green light to sell after recreational licenses were approved 

  • Ohioans need to have a government-issued ID and be 21 and up to purchase the product 

Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana last November, passing with overwhelming support. But Ohioans should be aware of some regulations surrounding recreational sales and use.

"There are limits to how much people can possess that are built into the law," said Jonathan Entin, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University.  

Under Ohio law, anyone 21 and up can possess and consume marijuana. A person can buy up to 2.5 ounces of the product but cannot possess more than 15 grams of marijuana concentrate at one time.

There are also limits on the amount of plants an individual can have. If you are in possession of recreational marijuana, it's no longer illegal, but a person cannot be under the influence while driving. A person can transport the product with a maximum of 15 grams of adult use cannabis in the form of adult-use extract. But, they could potentially face a fine if they carry more.

For example, if someone has 70 to 100 grams of recreational weed they could face a misdemeanor and possibly a $150-dollar maximum fine.

Although the product is legal in Ohio it is still federally illegal. So what happens if you get pulled over? That question is still pretty vague. Entin says when a person gets pulled over, they should comply with the police officer. 

"If the officer pulls you over and cites you for unlawful possession, then you may well have legal defenses," Entin said. "Or, when the case goes to court and that's the place where you make your arguments, you can argue about whether the officer had probable cause to pull you over. You can argue about whether you, in fact, had more than the legal limit of marijuana, things like that." 

"There could be issues like was there a reasonable suspicion?" said Lloyd Pierre-Louis, an attorney at Dickinson-Wright Law Firm & Attorneys. "Are there scents and odors coming out of your vehicle? Dispensaries only sell products that are packaged, so there shouldn't be some of the the typical things that you would suspect when somebody is pulled over and potentially has a scent or odor emitting from the some of the vehicles, things like that are still are going to be going to be more traditional at this point. Is it in a package form? Is it is it something that you purchase from a dispensary? Are you within the limits?"

Pierre-Louis does a lot of work with regulatory compliance, and he says Ohio is still evolving with recreational marijuana being legal. He says when purchasing, people need to carry government issued IDs, and smoking cannot be done in certain areas of the state, which include school grounds. 

Smoking marijuana is also banned in indoor public spaces by the state's smoking ban law.

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