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In 2012, Colorado officially changed the game for good when it enacted an amendment that made marijuana legal within the state’s borders and became the first place in the country where you could get weed without having to rely on A Guy.
Since then, ten more states (and the nation’s capital) have followed suit, and while marijuana might not be legalized on a federal level at any point in the near future, the tides have begun to turn and show no real signs of stopping.
In most cases, getting weed legalized requires a fair amount of effort on the part of activists who want to see their greatest dream become a reality. Traditionally speaking, you either need to convince the general populous to get behind a ballot initiative or elect representatives who are willing to be the change you want to see in the world.
However, it appears Ohio is not a fan of tradition.
According to WBNS, legal experts are of the opinion that the state recently made marijuana legal when Senate Bill 57 was signed into law—a measure that was intended to allow farmers in the state to grow hemp.
The bill in question established a THC threshold to differentiate between hemp and weed—anything containing more than .3% of the substance that gets you stoned is considered marijuana, whose legal status wasn’t supposed to change.
However, as the outlet notes, most law enforcement officials in the state don’t possess the technology to measure the levels of THC when it comes to cannabis plants (virtually every crime lab is only able to test whether or not it’s present).
So what does this mean? Well, there’s currently no way for police to easily determine what is weed and what isn’t so Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation has instructed prosecutors to suspend indictments concerning possible marijuana crimes as they scramble to figure their shit out.
A representative for state prosecutors seems to agree with the interpretation of the new law, saying:
“This bill de facto legalizes marijuana in Ohio… at least for a time. We raised this concern with legislators during debate of this bill. It’s disappointing those concerns were rejected.”
What a happy little accident. Bob Ross would be proud.