TOLEDO, Ohio — On Friday afternoon, the Ohio Department of Commerce sent out a press release about how Issue 2 affects those with a liquor license.
"Liquor permit holders who knowingly or willfully allow the use of marijuana in, upon, or about their licensed permit premises are subject to administrative citation," it warned.
That was news to Bill Kline, a managing partner of The Blarney Irish Pub in downtown Toledo. When asked about the guidance he's gotten from the state, he joked: "So far you are our guidance."
Even though The Blarney does not allow smoking of any kind on its patio, Kline had to ask two customers to get out of a heated igloo on Monday afternoon because they were smoking marijuana.
"They mentioned that it was legal and that they had a right to smoke on our patio," Kline said.
But they don't.
Issue 2 legalized recreational marijuana, but not everywhere. In Ohio, it is still considered a controlled substance. It can be consumed in a private home, but not a public location.
"Just look at it like an open container," says University of Toledo lecturer Dr. Brandon Cohen, who teaches cannabis law and cannabis entrepreneurship for the John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation. "It's something you just don't want to flaunt it and push it. It's a new law, so there's no reason to push the limits and test what the police are willing or not willing to do as far as enforcing the restrictions mandated by the law."
Kline and Cohen agree that there needs to be a consistent and widespread message from the state.
"I haven't seen anything from the Ohio Restaurant Association or the state of Ohio," Kline said."To be honest, I feel like if there is something on the books involving our patios, I feel that the Ohio Restaurant Association should team up with the Commerce Department to make a universal sign for us."
It's a sentiment with which Cohen agrees.
"As a bar owner, naturally what I would want to do just to protect myself is to put up signs in the restaurants that say: 'This is a no-smoking area, including no marijuana,'" he said.
The Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce recently held a webinar to explain some of the ins and outs of Issue 2. Several bar and restaurant owners participated.
Even though marijuana has been legal in Michigan since 2018, the state still does not allow marijuana smoking in bars. Business owners can purchase a consumption license to open a consumption lounge. However, cannabis cannot be sold in those lounges.