On Monday, the governor of Ohio met with GOP Senate leadership and House leadership to discuss possible changes to a marijuana legalization initiative approved by voters. He wants these changes implemented before a part of this law takes effect next month. A key Democratic legislator who has been a champion of cannabis reform believes Republicans should have seized the opportunity to shape policy months or even years ago.
Gov. Mike DeWine, (R), said that voters should not expect “surprises” and that the revisions being discussed will still respect the “spirit of reform”. The potential changes could include reducing youth consumption, reallocating tax revenues and increasing resources for impaired driving prevention.
After last week’s election, in which voters approved legalization by 57-43 percent, the governor had already announced that he would be meeting with Senate president Matt Huffman and House speaker Jason Stephens.
DeWine , after the discussion on Monday, told journalists: “We have an obligations to implement that.”
He said that he does not believe that “there are any surprises out there” nor that “anything that I have suggested we do is really in contradiction to what the people voted for.”
He said: “I believe most people went to vote and the question was, Are we going to have legal pot or not? And I’m not certain people focused on the details.” “I must focus on it, because we need to administer it.” We need to ensure that it works.
The governor said it was urgent to get changes made before December 7 when adult possession and cultivation will become legal. He added that you cannot “put the genie in the bottle” afterwards and that “it will give everybody better notice as to what the rules are, and how this will work out.” It will also be “a lot more beneficial for everyone.”
The Senate President and House Speaker have discussed their independent interest in amending ‘s cannabis law with an emphasis on THC limitations and tax policy. A spokesperson for the Senate GOP minority said the same thing, saying that the legislature may amend the statute “to clarify some questionable wording regarding THC limits,” and that “tax rates are a concern.”
Last week, the governor said that “the people of Ohio have made it clear they want legalized marijuana.”
He said: “We will make sure that they get it, but we also have to fulfill our responsibilities to the entire state of Ohio. Whether they voted in favor or against, we must do this responsibly and with respect.” “And we do this, frankly, the Ohio Way.”
The calendars of both chambers are limited in time to pass legislation that addresses the concerns of the Governor and legislators before personal possession and cultivation becomes effective. The Senate will only meet twice between now and December 7th, while the House has just four days of session to act.
Rep. Casey Weinstein, who has been a champion of cannabis reform and has sponsored bipartisan legislation legalizing marijuana in Ohio, told Marijuana Moment that Ohioans “spoke loudly” on Tuesday at the polls.
“We value privacy. We value freedom. “We value freedom,” he said. “The leaders of the legislature should listen to the people and respect their will.”
Weinstein , in a new interview published this week said that it was “a slap on the face” for Ohio voters to get involved with setting the rules of legal marijuana after the ballot initiative forced the issue. They could have acted upon legislation he had filed in previous sessions.
He said: “I hope this teaches them that bills with overwhelming bipartisan support should be heard.”
The Ohio Department of Commerce published a FAQ guide to inform residents about the new law, including the timeline for its implementation. Regulators have repeatedly stated that policies could change depending on the actions of the legislature.
The prohibitionist organizations who campaigned against Issue 2 are now determined to undermine the newly passed law. Some have even described plans to pressurize the legislature into repealing legalization completely before it is implemented.
In September, several Ohio legislators said that they did not believe the legislature would attempt to repeal the voter-approved legalization law.
The issue was only decided by the voters after the lawmakers refused to use the opportunity of passing their own reform during the ballot qualification procedure. The legislature had months to pass a legalization they could have tailored to address any outstanding concerns. However, the legislature deferred this decision to voters.
The governor, for his part has said that “it would be an absolute mistake” if we had recreational marijuana. He also added that he visited Colorado in 2012 after its legalization and saw “an unmitigated catastrophe.”
The GOP-controlled Senate, which was responsible for the early voting that began late last month urged residents to reject Measure .
Rep. Dave Joyce, the co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus said in September he’d vote in favor of this initiative in November. He encouraged “all Ohio citizens to take part and make their voices known on this important matter.”
Sherrod BROWN (D-OH), the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said that he voted for the ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. He called it a hard decision but one based on the belief that this reform would promote consumer “safety”.
Vivek RAMASWAMY, a Republican presidential candidate for 2024, has said that he voted against the ballot initiative to legalize cannabis in Ohio, because he is concerned the federal government will “weaponize criminalization” against people who engage in state-legal marijuana activities under the “fake pretense” that they are protected from federal prosecution.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) said that Ohio’s decision to legalize cannabis at the ballot was just one of many recent examples of Americans rejecting “MAGA extremeism,”. He added that he is committed to working on a bipartisan level “to continue moving forward on bipartisan marijuana legislation as soon we can.”
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus told Marijuana Moment in a recent interview that the vote in Ohio “was a big exclamation mark on the things we have been talking about.”
We’ve been saying this for years, that the issue is gaining momentum and that it is inclusive. He said that it was similar to the success of the [Ohio] abortion rights issue, except this was more pronounced. “We received more votes than abortion.” “We get more votes than anyone on the ballot.”
The White House said separately that “nothing has shifted” with President Joe Biden’s stance on cannabis. They declined to state if they supported Ohio’s vote this week to legalize or if they backed further reforms of federal cannabis laws.
According to preliminary results of county elections, while Ohio voters approved the statewide legalization of marijuana, activists scored a number of small victories to criminalize higher amounts of cannabis in 3 Ohio cities.
New York State Lawmakers send bills to Governor reducing marijuana tax, providing relief for local 280E businesses
Photo by Philip Steffan.
The post Ohio Gov. Says Voters Can’t Expect Surprises As He Works with GOP Leadership to Amend Marijuana Legalization Law first appeared on Marijuana Minute.
