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Tag: recreational marijuana

Ohio GOP proposal seeks to change voter-passed marijuana law with higher tax, lower THC levels

By: Megan Henry – Ohio Capital Journal

A Republican lawmaker is trying to reduce the amount of marijuana grown at home, lower the level of THC in recreational marijuana, increase the tax, and redirect the revenue from it.

Ohio Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, recently introduced Senate Bill 56 which would make several changes to the state’s marijuana laws.

“This bill is about government efficiency, consumer and child safety, and maintaining access to voter-approved adult-use marijuana,” Huffman said in his sponsor testimony last week.

Ohioans voters passed a citizen-initiated law to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 and sales started in August 2024. Since it was passed as a citizen initiative, Ohio lawmakers have the ability to change the law.

The state’s total recreational marijuana sales were $292,874,669 as of Jan. 25, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control.

The bill would lower THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% to a maximum of 70% and merge the state’s medical and recreational marijuana programs under the Division of Cannabis Control.

“Consolidating both programs under the Division will allow for consistent requirements regarding testing, packaging, labeling, and advertising, especially those related to protecting children,” Huffman said in his testimony. “It also provides for streamlined licensing standards and general compliance procedures, cutting down on bureaucracy, red tape, and government waste.”

On the home grow side, the law currently allows 12 marijuana plants to be cultivated at a single residence, but the bill would cut that in half. Huffman said folks who are growing marijuana at home could be supplying the illicit market.

“The people did vote for home grow,” Huffman said. “I think that this is an example that we’re trying to move it to a little bit more reasonable.”

S.B. 56 would require marijuana to be transported in the trunk of a car when traveling and it specifies that marijuana is only allowed in a private residence.

“Ohio has long established open container laws regarding alcohol in motor vehicles; common sense mandates a similar rule for adult-use and medical marijuana access in motor vehicles,” said Steve Barnett, the Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney and a current officer of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association.

The bill would also up the tax on adult-use marijuana from 10% to 15%, cap the number of active dispensaries at 350, and funnel all revenue from the adult-use tax to the state general fund. There are currently 128 marijuana dispensaries in Ohio as of Friday, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce.

The current tax revenue is divided up in multiple ways — 36% to the cannabis social equity and jobs fund, 36% to the host community cannabis fund, 25% to the substance abuse and addiction fund and 3% to the Division of Cannabis Control and Tax Commissioner Fund.

Ohio Senators tried to pass a similar bill during the previous General Assembly, but it died in the House.

“So we’re basically telling the voters … screw you,” said Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You passed it with an overwhelming majority of the state, but we know better.”

Huffman responded by saying he believes his bill corrects “some of the societal needs.”

“I don’t want to sit at the ball game and the guy next to my nine-year-old kid is smoking marijuana,” he said. “I think that’s wrong. That’s what the voters voted for. … I wouldn’t say we’re gutting everything. We’re trying to improve it.”

There is currently nothing in the bill related to expungement, so DeMora asked about the possibility of adding expungement to the bill and Huffman sounded open to that possibility.

“Through this committee process, we will certainly be open to any type of amendments to do something along that line,” Huffman said.

Despite Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine pleas to lawmakers to regulate or ban delta-8 THC products, hemp is not included in the bill. There was a bill in the last General Assembly that would have banned the sale of intoxicating hemp, but the bill never made it out committee.

However, Huffman hinted that a separate bill dealing with hemp will be introduced soon.

“I find both of them to be very complex issues,” he said.

Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky.

Megan Henry

Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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Feb 3, 2025
Recreational marijuana sales begin in Ohio

Tuesday has been a long time coming — 57% of Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana in November but there has been nowhere to legally purchase it. Until now.

By: Megan Henry – Ohio Capital Journal

Boston Grunkemeyer lined up in front of Amplify Dispensary’s Columbus location around 9:45 Tuesday morning and was the store’s first recreational marijuana customer.

He doesn’t have a medical marijuana card, but has anxiety and depression.

“It’s kind of nice to be able to go towards this if I need to, but also it’s gonna be fun just to be able to enjoy myself with my friends,” Grunkemeyer said.

Tuesday has been a long time coming — 57% of Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana in November but there has been nowhere to legally purchase it. Until now.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be able to launch a program that is ahead of schedule, that will be thoughtfully regulated and will ensure that Ohio cannabis consumers no longer have to drive to Michigan or resort to the unregulated market,” Ohio Cannabis Coalition Spokesperson Tom Haren said.

The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control gave 98 dispensaries the green light to start selling recreational marijuana by giving them their certificates of operation. Ten Columbus dispensaries, eight Cincinnati dispensaries, and five Cleveland dispensaries received their certificates of operation on Tuesday.

Amplify Dispensary in Columbus prepares for the first day of recreational marijuana sales on August 6. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal.)

“However, the issuance of COOs does not necessarily mean non-medical sales will begin immediately at every dispensary, as each licensee must determine when they will start sales based on factors including staffing, stock and other business considerations,” the DCC said in a statement.

The DCC plans on awarding certificates of operations to all the remaining eligible dispensaries later this week, according to the division.

Certificates are issued “roughly” in the order when completed applications were received by the division and when compliances were fulfilled, according to the division.

Recreational sales are actually ahead of schedule since the division had until Sept. 7 to approve or deny a license application.

“A big reason we were able to get to this point ahead of the Sept. 7 deadline was due to the foundation laid through the state’s existing Medical Marijuana Control Program,” DCC Superintendent James Canepa said in a statement. “Since existing licensees had already met stringent requirements of that program, we anticipated this process to be rather smooth. They had already undergone many of the comprehensive checks as part of that process.”

Amplify Dispensary

Jerika Tieman was excited to be able to buy weed without needing a medical marijuana card.

“It’s been a long time coming,” she said, standing outside Amplify before the store opened.

She previously had a medical marijuana card but didn’t renew it due to costs. The registration fee for medical marijuana was eliminated earlier this year, but it was previously $50, DCC spokesperson James Crawford said in an email.

“It is a hugely monumental day,” said Amplify’s Digital Brand Manager Cole Wallis. “We’re part of a change, and a change for good, which feels super, and we’re happy to be a part of it. I’m just excited to see it unfold.”

They doubled their staff at their Columbus location in anticipation for recreational sales to start, and have two other locations in Cleveland Heights and in Bedford.

Trulieve

Trulieve expected to see between 500-600 people at one of their Columbus locations on Tuesday — about triple their average number, said Nick Rassler, their director of state operations.

Trulieve has three locations in Ohio — two in the Columbus-area and one near Dayton.

They normally open around nine or ten in the morning, but opened their doors at 7 a.m. this morning. Their line started forming at 6:30 a.m.

“It’s a huge deal for the industry as well and just cannabis in general,” Rassler said. “There’s people who just didn’t have a qualifying condition, but may have still had a need for the product. It’s a great alternative for them, it helps them feel the way they want to feel.”

Medical Marijuana Program

Both Amplify and Trulieve are prioritizing their medical marijuana patients and had different lines for medical and non-medical customers.

Medical marijuana patients don’t have to pay excise tax on the product.

“I would like to see it coexist peacefully, which I think we can get to that point,” Amplify Columbus’ General Manager Alissa Baker said.

Haren said there will be enough medical marijuana supply to meet demand.

“By rule, the supply side will be there to match the demand, whatever it is,” he said. “If the demand shrinks, then you know, there will be less inventory, sort of held for medical patients. But if the demand stays where it is, we will continue to have product at dispensaries in order to meet that demand. And so it’s flexible from a regulatory perspective.”

Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on Twitter.

Megan Henry

Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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Aug 7, 2024
Gov. DeWine calls on legislators to modify recreational marijuana law before it goes into effect

BY: MEGAN HENRY – Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says he accepts that Ohioans have voted to legalize recreational marijuana, but is calling on legislators to make changes to the law before it goes into effect on Dec. 7.

“My recommendation to the General Assembly is that they take action to make sure that both rights are protected,” DeWine said Thursday morning to a group of reporters during his first remarks about Tuesday’s election.

“People have a right to smoke it. People have a right to consume it. But also that everybody else’s who doesn’t choose to do so is also protected with their rights as well.”

Leading up to the election, DeWine was a vocal critic of Issue 2, which legalizes and regulates the cultivation, manufacturing, testing and the sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up.

“We respect what the people have done,” DeWine said. “What the people have clearly told us is they want legal marijuana in Ohio. We are going to see that they have that. We’re also going to live up to our responsibility to all the people in the state of Ohio, whether they voted for it or voted against it.”

In doing so, he wants to make sure various protections are in place, starting with Ohio’s children.

“One goal will be to make sure that they are protected from advertising in regard to marijuana,” DeWine said. “We want to do everything within our power to reduce the number of inadvertent consumption of gummy bears, cookies and other products that have marijuana.”

Last year, a 10-year-old Upper Arlington elementary student mistakenly brought her dad’s edible marijuana gummies to school and shared with them other students during lunch, thinking they were leftover Easter candy. After eating the gummies, the students became nauseous, experienced hallucinations and had elevated heart rates, so they were all taken to a local hospital for treatment.

“We have every responsibility to do everything we can to keep those (emergency room visits) numbers down as much as we can,” DeWine said.

BUCKEYE LAKE, Ohio — AUGUST 17: A worker holds a tray of green apple marijuana edibles that will be packaged for medical sale, August 17, 2023, at the PharmaCann, Inc.’s cultivation and processing facility in Buckeye Lake, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.)

He said he also feels obligated to protect adults who don’t want to inhale or smell marijuana when they are walking around.

“They make a choice not to use marijuana, they should be protected from being in a place where they have to deal with that,” he said.

DeWine also wants to reduce the number of drivers under the influence of marijuana. This was an issue the opposition group Protect Ohio Workers and Families harped on throughout election season — predicting Ohio would see an additional 48 fatal vehicle crashes and 2,298 more injury crashes if Issue 2 passed.

Issue 2 is a citizen initiative, meaning Ohio lawmakers can make changes to the law — something DeWine hopes can happen by Dec. 7.

“I would hope … that when Dec. 7 comes and goes that we will be able to inform the people of the state exactly how this program will roll out,” he said. “I think it would be good if that was all done by the 7th so that we’re not in a situation of taking something away from people.”

DeWine said he has a Monday morning meeting scheduled with Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, and Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman — two republicans who were quick to hint at making changes to Issue 2 after the race was called.

“Now is the time for the legislature to lead on how best to allocate tax revenues while responsibly regulating the industry,” Stephens said in a statement.

Huffman said lawmakers may clarify language “regarding limits for THC and tax rates as well as other parts of the statute.”

Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on Twitter.

Reporter Nick Evans contributed to this story.

MEGAN HENRY

Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

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Nov 11, 2023
Proposed recreational marijuana law is headed to the November ballot in Ohio

BY: MEGAN HENRY – Ohio Capital Journal

A proposed recreational marijuana law will be on Ohio’s November ballot after all.

The Secretary of State’s office verified 4,405 additional valid petition signatures — bringing the grand total to 127,772, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Wednesday in a letter to the campaign. 124,046 signatures were needed.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol’s statute initiative would legalize and regulate cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up. It would also legalize home grow for Ohioans 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, and impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.

“We are grateful to the thousands of Ohioans who helped us get to this point and are excited to bring our proposal to regulate marijuana like alcohol before Ohio voters this coming Election Day,” spokesperson Tom Haren said.

This comes after the coalition initially came up just short of collecting enough valid signatures. The coalition submitted 223,176 signatures in July, but only 123,367 were found to be valid signatures. They recently submitted 6,545 additional signatures after the 10-day cure period.

Hamilton County submitted the most valid signatures with 1,914. Next was Franklin County with 711 and Montgomery County with 626.

Twenty-three states and Washington D.C. have legalized the recreational use and sale of cannabis.

The proposed marijuana statute will be on Nov. 7’s ballot alongside the reproductive rights amendment.

Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on Twitter.

MEGAN HENRY

Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

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Aug 19, 2023
Supporters of recreational marijuana in Ohio have 10 days to collect about 700 valid signatures for ballot

BY: MEGAN HENRY – Ohio Capital Journal

Not enough valid signatures were collected to put recreational marijuana on Ohio’s November ballot.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol submitted 123,367 valid signatures, but 124,046 signatures were needed. Supporters will now have 10 days to collect the needed 679 valid signatures.

“It looks like we came up a little short in this first phase, but now we have 10 days to find just 679 voters to sign a supplemental petition – this is going to be easy, because a majority of Ohioans support our proposal to regulate and tax adult use marijuana,” Tom Haren, a spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said in a statement.

This would legalize and regulate cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up.

It would also legalize home grow for Ohioans 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, and impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted 223,176 signatures earlier this month.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — JUNE 05: Field staffers for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol deliver boxes containing petitions with 222,198 signatures to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, July 5, 2023, at the loading dock of the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State, 180 E Broad St in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.)

Franklin County submitted the most valid signatures with 26,090, followed up by Hamilton County with 18,097 and Cuyahoga County with 14,073.

The proposal was submitted by citizens through an initiated statute, so it is not an amendment to the state’s constitution and is not affected by Issue 1. Early voting for Aug. 8’s special election is currently underway where Ohioans will decide if they want to make it harder to amend the state’s constitution.

Twenty-three states and Washington D.C. have legalized the recreational use and sale of cannabis.

Medical marijuana

Ohio legalized medical marijuana in 2016, but the first dispensary didn’t open until 2019.

There are 370,287 registered patients in Ohio and 174,591 patients with both an active registration and an active recommendation as of May 31, according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program.

House Bill 168

There is another way recreational marijuana could be legalized in Ohio.

State Reps. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, and Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, introduced House Bill 168 in May which would allow Ohioans 21 and older to cultivate, purchase and possess marijuana.

The bipartisan bill is currently in House committee.

Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on Twitter.

MEGAN HENRY

Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

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Jul 27, 2023
Ohio Republicans launch effort to make citizen-led amendments harder to pass for voters

Secretary of State Frank LaRose (speaking) alongside Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, introducing a constitutional amendment requiring a 60% supermajority for all future citizen-led ballot amendments. (Photo by Nick Evans, OCJ.)

Legislative Republican leaders also negotiating other changes, nix plan for automated voter registration

BY: NICK EVANS – Ohio Capital Journal

Lawmakers raised two ideas Thursday with massive implications for Ohio voters. One is an initiative requiring citizen-led constitutional amendments gain a 60% supermajority at the ballot for passage, the other is a House bill aimed at rewriting the underlying infrastructure of how the state conducts elections.

The amendment

State Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, joined Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to introduce their plan to “safeguard Ohio’s constitution from special interests,” by proposing the supermajority for passage.

“We have repeatedly watched as special interests buy their way onto the statewide ballot and then spend millions of dollars drowning the airwaves to secure fundamental changes to our state by a vote margin of 50% plus one vote,” Stewart argued.

Their plan singles out the citizen-led process for amending the state constitution and raises the threshold for passage to 60%. The signature threshold for making the ballot would remain unchanged. LaRose argued lifting that benchmark would give the same interest groups a relative advantage.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Official photo.

“If a special interest group can afford to pay, you know, million dollars to hire people with clipboards,” LaRose reasoned, “they can afford to pay a million and a half dollars to hire more people with more clipboards.”

The stakes are high for any groups whose ideas have fallen on deaf ears in Columbus. The prospects for abortion protection, recreational marijuana, minimum wage increases, gun violence prevention, or further redistricting reform provisions are effectively non-existent in the GOP-controlled Statehouse. LaRose and Stewart’s proposal would move the goal posts for any of those ideas.

The proposal itself, of course, will need to go to voters and get just 50% plus one to alter the Ohio Constitution. It will follow a different process, too. Stewart’s resolution would make the ballot through a General Assembly vote rather than the citizen signature-gathering process.

That lawmaker-led process won’t see any changes in the threshold for passage, either. LaRose and Stewart dismissed any suggestion their approach is unfair. Lawmakers have to meet a supermajority benchmark, too, they argued. It’s on “the front end” where they have to clear a 2/3 supermajority to make the ballot.

Under maps declared to be unconstitutional gerrymandering by a bipartisan majority on the Ohio Supreme Court, Ohio Republicans once again won rock-solid supermajorities in the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate last week.

LaRose and Stewart highlighted how 11 of 16 citizen-led amendments have failed since 2000, so it wasn’t clear exactly why they want to raise the bar higher as they also noted of the five measures that passed, three cleared 60% at the ballot box.

The legislation

Republican Ohio House Majority Leader Bill Seitz. Official photo.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, kicked off Thursday morning by proposing sweeping changes to an already sweeping elections bill. The biggest move involved nixing the automated voter registration language contained in the initial proposal.

Those provisions would’ve leaned heavily on the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to help voters register or update their registration any time they interact with the agency. If voters’ registration is regularly updated, the thinking goes, there will be fewer names to purge. But Seitz said after months of negotiations, the Ohio Senate hasn’t budged.

“If we’re going to get anything done,” Sietz said, “we’ve got to have an agreement between two chambers, and the Senate does not yet feel comfortable with automated voter registration, even though I am comfortable with it.”

“But it takes two to tango as they say,” he added with a wry chuckle.

Among other changes, voters would be able to request absentee ballots online, but they’d have to submit paper requests on a specific form. The deadline for requesting one would be seven days before an election. The bill trims the deadline for absentee ballots to arrive post-election to seven days as well.

Drop boxes would be available for the duration of early voting, but they’d be restricted — no more than three, all on board of elections premises and under 24/7 video surveillance.

The bill eliminates the final day of early voting but distributes those hours in the week prior by extending weekday hours.

Seitz also dropped a number of ID provisions from the original bill. He noted Senate legislation plans to offer free photo-ID to anyone — not just poor Ohioans as his bill envisioned.

“They can be, you know, Leslie Wexner or Carlin Lindner III and they could still get a free photo ID,” he quipped referencing the founder of The Limited and the co-CEO of American Financial Group.

Pushback

A slew of press releases were released Thursday afternoon from good government groups and voters rights organizations slamming the Stewart and LaRose proposal to increase the passage threshold for citizen-initiated amendments.

As for the Seitz proposal, voting rights advocates applauded the inclusion of online ballot requests and funding for electronic poll books. But League of Women Voters of Ohio Director Jen Miller warned the proposal would make elections “more complicated, expensive and inefficient.”

She urged lawmakers to expand in person voting hours during the final weekend of early voting. Miller argued boards will get more bang for their buck expanding weekend voting compared to tacking on extra early morning hours during the week.

Miller also pushed them to reconsider the automated voter registration they’d just removed. She argued 22 other states have similar policies including West Virginia, Georgia and Michigan.

“It removes barriers to registration, but it also helps every voter because the accuracy of voter rolls are improved and it can reduce administrative costs for the boards of elections,” Miller explained. “And we reduce our provisional ballot counts which are typically very high in Ohio.”

Miller returned to the idea of excessive provisional ballots in a discussion of stricter voter ID requirements.

“When someone votes provisionally, which of course we support, that actually takes away all workers from the process,” Miller explained. “It increases lines, and it also increases a lot of post-election work for boards of elections. So we think that the system as is works.”

Speaking afterward, Seitz rejected out of hand the idea that more stringent voter ID requirements could increase the number of provisional ballots cast.

“I don’t buy that at all, that’s crap,” he said, “look at everything you need a photo ID for in life, okay?”

Follow OCJ Reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.

Nov 22, 2022
Recreational marijuana backers submit signatures

BY: NICK EVANS – Ohio Capital Journal

A group pushing for recreational marijuana in Ohio is one step closer to the ballot after the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted 200,000-plus signatures to state officials. Now county boards of elections begin the work of verifying signatures.

The coalition’s plan would allow Ohioans over 21 possess, use, and purchase cannabis. They propose a 10% tax on sales that would fund social equity and addiction programs. Another portion of that revenue would bolster the general funds of cities that choose to allow dispensaries within their borders. The plan would even allow adults to grow a limited amount of cannabis at home.

“The success of our petition drive shows just how eager Ohioans are to end prohibition and legalize the adult use of marijuana,” coalition spokesman Tom Haren said in a press release. “We look forward to receiving the results of the Secretary of State’s review, and are eager to begin working with legislators on this important issue.”

Signature gatherers overshot the required threshold of 132,877 by about 70,000 to provide a buffer for any signatures that get thrown out. So long as they meet the required overall number and get a designated portion from at least 44 of the state’s counties, the proposal goes to state lawmakers. If lawmakers choose not to approve the measure, the coalition has the chance to get another round of signatures to put their proposal on the ballot.

At this point, the ballot seems like the most likely path to approval, but that doesn’t mean the GOP-controlled legislature is blind to the shortcomings in Ohio’s existing marijuana program. Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, has shepherded a measure through the Senate that would make significant under-the-hood changes to the state’s marijuana policy while leaving the overall structure intact. That bill passed the Senate last week.

But provisions like allowing homegrown marijuana are a non-starter for Huffman.

“Because that’s recreational marijuana,” Huffman said in a November interview about his bill. “If you’re going to grow five for your medical purpose, you know, the neighbor kids going to steal one, [and] you’re going to sell a couple.”

And Huffman isn’t alone. A recent poll conducted by Gongwer News Service shed light on how much the ground is shifting when it comes to marijuana — 43% of Republican lawmakers supported adult use, dead even with those who oppose it. But when it comes to homegrown marijuana, the GOP is far more unified in its opposition. When it comes to personal use, 64% of GOP members registered opposition and 86% said they are against people growing cannabis for commercial use.

Assuming the coalition’s signatures meet requirements, lawmaker have four months to act on their proposal.

Dec 22, 2021
Recreational marijuana nearing enough signatures to force lawmakers’ hands

BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN – Ohio Capital Journal

A direct-democracy attempt to force the state legislature to act on recreational marijuana will have enough signatures by the month’s end to set a plan in motion, an organizer projected Friday.

Ohio attorney Thomas Haren, a representative of the “Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol,” said he expects that enough signatures will be gathered to move a proposal forward that would allow for adult use, sale, and possession of marijuana in Ohio.

“We think that marijuana reform is popular,” he said at a panel hosted by the Ohio State University law school’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center.

“It’s not a bipartisan issue. It’s a nonpartisan issue.”

The coalition launched what’s known in Ohio as an initiated statute. It proposed the architecture of a recreational marijuana program in Ohio. If state officials determine the coalition gathered the required 133,000 valid signatures, lawmakers in the Ohio General Assembly get four months to act on the proposal. If lawmakers fail, organizers must gather more signatures to send the proposal to a popular vote by the people at the next general election.

The Ohio Ballot Board gave organizers the green light in late August to start gathering signatures.

The proposal allows for the possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana or 15 grams of marijuana extract. Adult Ohioans could purchase marijuana at retail locations or grow two plants at home (four if there are two adults living in the household).

Marijuana has reached a “tipping point” in the U.S. and the time to climb aboard was yesterday, according to Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, a lead sponsor of House Democrats’ effort on recreational marijuana.

Nineteen states and Washington D.C. have legalized marijuana for personal use, according to the advocacy group NORML. Gallup polling indicates 68% of Americans support legalizing marijuana, the highest rate since the polling firm began surveying the issue in 1969. Roughly 83% of surveyed Democrats, 71% of independents and 50% of Republicans indicated support. The Washington Post reported this week that while there’s not yet agreement on its breadth, bipartisan members of Congress are working on significant reforms to the nation’s marijuana laws.

“This is a situation where we’re behind where Ohioans are,” Weinstein said, noting that the initiated statute might provide the Legislature with a sense of “urgency.”

History

Mary Jane Borden, co-founder of the Natural Therapies Education Foundation, said Ohio lawmakers have a long history slow-walking marijuana legislation until direct democracy attempts force them to act.

Between 2000 and 2010, seven marijuana bills were introduced, she said. Only one of them received more than a perfunctory introductory hearing.

In 2016, organizers launched a campaign for a constitutional amendment to allow for the use of medical marijuana in Ohio. They suspended the campaign after Gov. John Kasich signed House Bill 523, which created Ohio’s current program.

While voters are increasingly supportive of marijuana, lawmakers are decidedly agnostic. Borden cited a recent survey of 41 members from Gongwer News Service (the poll had a 31% response rate and doesn’t necessarily represent the full General Assembly). It found among Democrats, 36% support legalization, compared to 14% who don’t and 50% who are undecided. For Republicans, 43% support legalization, compared to 43% who don’t and 14% who are undecided.

“Republicans are more favorable on this issue than we might give them credit for,” Haren, who identified himself as a Republican, said.

With such a mixed take from lawmakers, Borden said the “end-run” of a referendum can spark action.

“What motivated the change [regarding medical marijuana] was obviously the ballot issue,” she said. “Similar to what [Haren] is doing now.”

Moving parts

Alongside Haren, there are three key items to watch regarding marijuana policy in Ohio.

For one, House Democrats Weinstein and Terrence Upchurch, D-Cleveland, introduced legislation of their own, with key differences from the initiated statute proposal. Their bill contains an expungement program, allows possession of up to five ounces of marijuana, and others.

The legislation, introduced in August, has yet to receive its first hearing from the House Finance Committee.

For two, House Republicans have announced a proposal of their own that’s fairly similar to the Democrats’ plan. When they announced the legislation last month, sponsoring Reps. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, and Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, acknowledged it’s a moonshot but said they believe they can convince the House Speaker — especially given pressure an initiated statute can provide.

They have yet to formally introduce a bill. A Callender aide said Friday they’re hoping to get a bill out around Thanksgiving but did not have details on any changes from what was announced.

Thirdly, a bipartisan group of Ohio Senators earlier this month proposed a broad expansion of the current medical marijuana program. Their bill would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana whenever they “reasonably” believe a patient might benefit. A Senate committee held its first hearing on the bill last week.

Nov 26, 2021