Youngstown, OH Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

Section 513.03, Drug Abuse; Controlled Substance Possession or Use, sits in Chapter 513, Drug Abuse Control, and its subsection (a) prohibition covers marijuana by name alongside Schedule III, IV and V controlled substances referenced to Ohio Revised Code 3719.41. The section does not carve out an exception for use in a public place; it bans knowing possession or use everywhere in the City, so smoking or otherwise using marijuana on a City sidewalk, in Mill Creek Park, or downtown along Federal Street falls under the same prohibition as possessing it at home.

Subsection (b) lists narrow exceptions for manufacturers, licensed health professionals, pharmacists and people who obtained a controlled substance under a lawful prescription, none of which cover recreational marijuana use. Subsection (c) sets the base penalty at a first-degree misdemeanor, and subsection (d) lets the sentencing court add a driver's or commercial driver's license suspension of not less than six months nor more than five years on top of any other sanction. Subsection (e) authorizes forfeiture of property connected to the offense under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2981 or the City's own forfeiture ordinances.

The Youngstown Police Department enforces the section citywide, and the same chapter separately bans illegal cultivation of marijuana under Section 513.06 and possessing drug paraphernalia under Section 513.12, so a marijuana citation in a public place can be paired with either of those companion charges depending on what officers find.