Ohio just legalized cannabis. Now comes the hard part

Ohio certainly wasn’t the first state to legalize recreational cannabis — 23 other states have done so since 2012 — but the Buckeye State’s arrival on that list could ultimately be quite consequential for the growing industry
Ohio voters’ approval of a legalization measure on Tuesday comes just months after cannabis saw some of its most significant movements at the federal level. In late August, a US Department of Health and Human Services official recommended that marijuana be reclassified as a Schedule III drug. One month later, a cannabis banking bill passed a key Senate committee.
A conservative and politically influential state such as Ohio legalizing marijuana should be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back in terms of bringing federal regulation to cannabis, said Andrew Freedman, a partner at Forbes Tate and executive director of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation. “As Ohio goes, so goes the nation,” he said.