Ohio House of Representatives approved a bill to make major changes to state marijuana law, which was approved by voters. This would remove several protections from consumers and also add a new set of hemp product restrictions that aim to harmonize the hemp industry with the legalized cannabis sector.
On Wednesday, after the Senate Stephen Huffman’s (R) legislation passed several House committees and received substantive changes, it was approved by the entire chamber in an 87-8 vote.
The measure passed through the Senate earlier, but it must return there for approval, or be referred to a bi-cameral conference committee before being sent to the Governor’s desk.
The House has scaled back some controversial parts of the Senate bill, but supporters are still concerned about the fact that the law will be substantially altered from what voters approved in the year 2023.
Rep. Brian Stewart’s (R) argument before the vote was that this bill is a compromise between legislators with different perspectives.
This bill was very hard to negotiate, as are most of the substantive bills we introduce. This bill is not a muddled mess of tie-breakers with weak sauce, but it does exactly what everyone said they wanted to accomplish when they came to Columbus,” he added. It tackles the problem head-on. Makes tough decisions. The bill respects feedback and takes it into account from the residents of the affected industry and the advocates. The bill is a wise balance of Ohioans’ personal liberties, safety, financial stability of our local community and the need for protecting the health and safety Ohio’s kids.”
Rep. Jamie Callender’s (R), who was the sponsor of marijuana legalization before the voters’ approval at the polls, has said that while the bill “is not perfect”, lawmakers have to “act” on intoxicating hemp and other unresolved issues.
He said, “This is a revised code that we are writing.” “I anticipate there will be numerous other bills on these topics in the near- and long-term future, as there should be… I’ll keep working with everyone to make it better.”
While its supporters have described it as a less heavy-handed approach compared to the original Senate bill, the measure would make substantive changes to the existing legalization law—with several provisions that advocates say directly contradict the will of voters and represent overreach on the part of lawmakers.
The proposal, for example would remove language from the current law that provides anti-discrimination provisions to people who use cannabis legally. The protections are meant to stop adverse treatment in areas such as child custody rights and the eligibility for organ donation or professional licenses.
This would also make possessing any marijuana other than from an Ohio state licensed dispensary or legal homegrow illegal. People could face criminal charges for possessing cannabis purchased at an authorized retailer in Michigan.
Additionally, it would ban smoking cannabis at outdoor public locations such as bar patios—and it would allow landlords to prohibit vaping marijuana at rented homes. Even if it is vaping marijuana in the backyard of a rented home, violating this policy would be a misdemeanor.
Karen O’Keefe of the Marijuana Policy Project’s (MPP) director for states policy, wrote to House members on Wednesday saying that SB56 as it is currently written “eliminates important protections under the law that was enacted by voters and recriminalizes harmless conduct that voters had legalized.”
She said: “Please do not accept this erosion of rights enacted in the name of democracy.”
The House’s substitute bill will not send the tax revenues from the cannabis sale to the local government, as the Senate version did.
As amended on Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee, the legislation also includes new restrictions for the hemp industry. Intoxicating hemp products, with the exception of drinks, would be only allowed to be purchased in licensed hemp dispensaries.
New advertising regulations will prevent youth appeal. The maximum THC content of products for consumption on site would be 5 mg, while adults can purchase take-home drinks up to 10 mg.
The bill would also create a $1.20 per gallon tax on hemp drinks.
Finance Committee amended the measure earlier Wednesday to make it clear that those seeking to expel misdemeanor marijuana offenses from their records would not be required to provide the exact amount of cannabis they possess. Changes will also be made to allow the expungement not only of convictions, but also dismissed marijuana charges.
This amendment also harmonizes the cannabinoid drink policy with the existing laws regarding drinks. It clarifies the penalties that apply to selling cannabis, hemp drinks, or cannabinoid product to a person under the age of 18.
House votes were taken on Wednesday, weeks after the Governor had issued emergency rules that prohibited the sale of hemp-based intoxicants for 90 days. The governor also instructed the Legislature to look at permanent regulations. Last week, however, a county judge enjoined the state from enforcing that policy in response to a legal challenge.
Governor Mike DeWine said in an interview that was published last week: “Frankly speaking, the legislative body had taken no action.” In an interview that appeared in this week, Mike DeWine said (R). “I am still optimistic that the legislator will take actual action.”
House Speaker Matt Huffman commented recently about the relative lack progress made in passing marijuana and hemp legislation after voters approved it in ballots 2023.
He said that there are people who “believe that marijuana should not be legalized, but rather regulated” and others who “believe that hemp products are equal to everything in the introduced statute”. “There are also prohibitionists like myself who do not think that it should ever be legalized, and that it shouldn’t be used at all,” he added.
I would say that the prohibitionists are largely out of this debate.”
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Meanwhile, last month, the Ohio Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) filed new proposed rules to build upon the state’s marijuana legalization law, laying out plans to update regulations on labeling and packaging requirements.
The proposal came weeks after Ohio medical and adult-use marijuana sales officially crossed $3 billion, data from the state Department of Commerce (DOC) shows.
The state sold about $703 million in recreational cannabis in the law’s first year of implementation, according to DCC data.
In March, a survey of 38 municipalities by the Ohio State University’s (OSU) Moritz College of Law found that local leaders were “unequivocally opposed” to earlier proposals that would have stripped the planned funding.
Meanwhile in Ohio, adults as of June are able to buy more than double the amount of marijuana than they were under previous limits, with state officials determining that the market can sustainably supply both medical cannabis patients and adult consumers.
The governor in March separately announced his desire to reallocate marijuana tax revenue to support police training, local jails and behavioral health services. The governor said that funding police training would be a priority even if it wasn’t part of what the voters approved in 2023.
Ohio’s Senate president has also pushed back against criticism of the Senate bill, claiming the legislation does not disrespect the will of the electorate and would have little impact on products available in stores.
Philip Steffan provided the photo.
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