Ohio lawmakers will likely go on summer break without making any changes to the state’s marijuana law, a Republican state representative said Tuesday.
For the second week in a row, Ohio Senate Bill 56 was up for a possible vote out of the Ohio House Judiciary Committee, but both times the vote did not take place.
Once the bill is voted out of committee, it can be brought to the House floor for a vote. The Senate passed the bill in February.
Last week, the bill was removed from the committee agenda and this week the committee meeting — which only had S.B. 56 on the agenda — was canceled.
“We are going to push pause,” state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said when asked about the marijuana bill. “We’re going to take the summer and come back and potentially take another crack at it.”
Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said the Senate raised more than a dozen issues related to S.B. 56 last week.
“I just told my caucus, ‘We’re not going to just say, OK, because we’re so anxious to pass the marijuana bill, which I’d like to get it done, but we’re not going to give up House priorities to do that,’” he said last week.
The lawmakers are currently working on the state’s two-year operating budget, which Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine must sign before July 1. The lawmakers will go on summer break after the budget is finished.
S.B. 56 would reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, limit the number of active dispensaries to 400 and prohibit smoking in most public places.
It would keep Ohio’s home grow the same at a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence. State Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, introduced the bill in January and the bill originally would have limited Ohio’s home grow from 12 plants down to six.
Ohioans passed a citizen-initiated law to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 with 57% of the vote, and sales started in August 2024. Ohio lawmakers can change the law since it passed as a citizen initiative not a constitutional amendment.
“The people of Ohio spoke very clearly on this issue,” said Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati. “They knew what they were voting on, and they voted to pass adult-use cannabis recreationally here in the state of Ohio.”
Intoxicating hemp products
The House has made significant changes to S.B. 56, most notably adding regulations to intoxicating hemp products.
As the bill currently stands, only a licensed marijuana dispensary would be able to sell intoxicating hemp products that have been tested and complied with packaging, labeling and advertising requirements.
The Ohio Department of Commerce would regulate intoxicating hemp products and drinkable cannabinoid products. Grocery stores, carryout stores, bars, and restaurants would continue to be able to sell drinkable cannabinoid products.
Isaacsohn agrees there should be regulations around intoxicating hemp products, but wants it to happen through a “clean bill.”
“It is so tied up in trying to overturn the will of the voters,” he said. “If we had a clean bill to fairly regulate intoxicating hemp, we could have voted on it months ago, years ago. … There are so many common sense things that we agree on, and when the majority brings forward a clean bill, we would be happy to vote for it.”
The 2018 Farm Bill says hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3% THC.
State Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, was planning on introducing amendments to the bill’s hemp provisions during Tuesday’s committee meeting, but that didn’t happen since the meeting was canceled.
The American Republic Policy worked with Swearingen on the amendments which would have allowed licensed hemp companies in Ohio to continue to operate their retail stores and create a unified regulatory framework for hemp and marijuana products, said Dakota Sawyer of American Republic Policy.
“The same regulations that would apply to marijuana under the Ohio administration code would apply to hemp products as well,” he said. “We are ensuring that we do not have state-sanctioned monopolies in the state of Ohio, that federally legal hemp products can be accessed through independent businesses, and that they would not be forced to go into dispensaries.”
Sawyer said forcing hemp products into only dispensaries would eliminate market competition.
“We want to ensure that there are options out for people, to ensure that they are able to purchase what they love, what they would want … and to ensure that we do not have state-sanctioned monopolies,” he said.
State Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, said 3,000 hemp businesses would close if S.B. 56 passes as it currently stands — with hemp products only being sold in dispensaries.
“We need to reward the good actors,” she said. “We need to ID check our hemp products when it is consumable. We also need to allow these businesses to stay open.”
Wesley Bryant, company owner of 420 Craft Beverages in Cleveland, said he already does many of the things that are outlined in the proposed amendment.
“Every square inch of my facility is fully covered by cameras,” he said. “We have a full track and traceability of everything that comes into my facility. We even go so far as to double check IDs. And my doors stay locked throughout the day. You have to be buzzed in order to enter the facility.”
DeWine and various lawmakers have expressed safety concerns for children when it comes to hemp products, but Sawyer said the average age of an Ohio hemp customer is 40 years old.
“It’s not geared towards children,” Sawyer said. “What some legislators have done is created this mystical boogeyman that says that all these hemp people are doing all these crazy things that are attracting minors. And essentially we’re saying, let’s punish the bad actors that are doing that, but let’s not punish the good guys for that.”
But Adrienne Robbin, deputy executive director of Ohio Cannabis Coalition (OHCANN), said Ohio children are being put at risk by intoxicating hemp products.
“It’s a sad day for all Ohioans that we’re going to continue to see these illicit products be sold in our state over the summer,” she said. “These products are being marketed to (children) specifically,” she said. “I think the hemp industry is really good at pulling a few good actors out and highlighting them, but the reality is, the majority of these products are illicit.”
Sawyer said he would prefer to see the legislation as two separate bills — one with marijuana regulations and a separate one with hemp regulations.
“Marijuana and hemp are totally separate in terms of the industry and products,” he said.
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