LAKEWOOD, Ohio – Spend five minutes in Lakewood and you get it. This is one of Ohio’s most vibrant, progressive cities—an eclectic west side hub, where century homes coexist with bustling shops, restaurants and a thriving business district.
Lakewood embraces change. It leans into opportunity.
And that’s exactly what it did when it welcomed two recreational marijuana dispensaries.
More than 80% of Lakewood voters helped legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio in 2023. And they didn’t do it with a spirit of NIMBYism. Quite the opposite. They wanted in—believing their community would share in the benefits of an industry that finally had the legitimacy it deserved.
Ohioans approved Issue 2, the voter-initiated statute on recreational marijuana, knowing it came with a framework. Host communities like Lakewood would manage traffic, zoning and the strain on services—but they’d also share in the financial rewards through dedicated tax revenues.
That wasn’t just part of the deal. It was the deal.
But now, state leaders in Columbus are trying to rewrite the agreement after the ink has dried.
They’re holding onto $10.9 million in marijuana tax revenue that was promised to cities like Lakewood, Cleveland, Akron and others. Instead of honoring that commitment, Gov. Mike DeWine and some lawmakers want to take control of the money and decide how it’s spent. Under DeWine’s proposal, which is baked into the biennial budget bill he introduced last month, sales tax on recreational marijuana would be doubled to 20%, and cities would lose their guaranteed share. Instead, the state would direct the funds to county jails, police training and mental health programs.
Worthy causes, sure. But that wasn’t the deal Ohio voters approved. And it’s not what cities signed up for when they agreed to host dispensaries and manage the costs that come with them.
Meanwhile, legislators in the Ohio House introduced their own bill that would keep marijuana taxes at 10%. But it would reduce municipalities’ share of that revenue from 36% to 20%.
If the state follows through on either proposal, it would be a stunning betrayal—a double-cross of local governments that upheld their end of the bargain, and a slap in the face to voters who believed the state would do the same.
“You can’t change the deal on local communities who are dealing with traffic, zoning, construction and parking impacts,” Lakewood Councilman Tom Bullock told cleveland.com. “Part of the terms of the deal was any costs are offset by the stated share of tax receipts.”
State officials now claim the ballot language was flawed—that it doesn’t give them the legal means to send the money where it belongs. They’re pointing fingers at marijuana lobbyists, blaming them for not consulting lawmakers or the state budget office when they drafted the proposal.
Convenient. Especially for leaders who sat silent about these issues — until now.
Spare us.
This isn’t a paperwork problem. It’s a power play. And it sends a clear message: They don’t trust voters. Worse, they don’t think they have to. That should offend every Ohioan — no matter how you voted on the issue. And if it doesn’t, consider this:
“Nobody, I think, cast a ballot in Ohio based upon some of the minutiae that was in the bill,” DeWine’s spokesman, Dan Tierney, told cleveland.com.
“Minutiae,” they say. As if the money promised to municipalities is just spare change they found in the couch cushions. Apparently, the governor thinks the 57% of Ohioans who voted for legalization were too blissed-out on the idea of legal weed to notice, or care, how the money would be spent.
Ohioans approved a system that returns tangible benefits to their communities. That expectation shaped how people voted—and how cities, like Lakewood, chose to participate. Pretending otherwise is political gaslighting at its worst.
In his defense of DeWine’s position, Tierney went on to suggest this fight over tax dollars is really just a case of buyer’s remorse— that cities regret selling out their neighborhoods for a quick buck and are now lamenting the “scourge” of marijuana they’ve invited upon their towns. They need the money to justify their poor judgment to their residents.
If there’s regret here, it’s that Lakewood believed state leaders would honor the deal. The city made a deliberate, responsible decision to welcome dispensaries—businesses that have proven to be well-run and unobtrusive—based on the state’s promise of reinvestment. Twisting that into a narrative of regret and exploitation insults the integrity of Lakewood’s decision and the intelligence of its voters.
If DeWine and lawmakers ram this through, they’ll be torching the trust Ohioans placed in them. And trust isn’t a renewable resource in politics.
The legislature still has time to do the right thing. They have until July 1 to approve DeWine’s budget. Senate President Rob McColley has indicated support for keeping cities whole. If lawmakers don’t, Ohio voters know exactly where to find them.
At the ballot box.
Leila Atassi is the editor of the Public Interest and Advocacy team at cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer. She writes a weekly opinion column on state and local issues. You can reach her at latassi@cleveland.com.
Ohio voters approved legal weed with the promise that host cities like Lakewood would share in the tax revenue. But now state leaders are trying to rewrite the deal and pocket the money themselves, writes columnist Leila Atassi. Read More
