A GOP-controlled Ohio Senate committee unanimously approved a revised law that would in many ways expand the voter-approved legalization of marijuana that will go into effect Thursday. This includes allowing adults to purchase marijuana at existing medical cannabis dispensaries as early as 90 days after it was passed, preserving home cultivation rights, and automatically expunging prior marijuana convictions.
After the Senate General Government Committee had advanced legislation that would fundamentally undo the cannabis initiative, which voters approved at the ballot box last month — proposing to eliminate home-grow options and delay legalization by at least one-year until adult-use retail stores began sales, for instance — the panel drastically retracted the measure on Wednesday and passed it unanimously in a bipartisan voice vote.
The Senate Rules and Reference Committee will now review the matter before it could be brought to the Senate floor as soon as Wednesday evening. It is unclear, however, whether the House will make changes to the legalization bill that is set to go into effect on Thursday.
The Senate panel heard public testimony and held a hearing on the original proposal. Many stakeholders and advocates expressed frustration at the apparent undermining by the voters and recommended changes, such as allowing medical cannabis dispensaries the opportunity to serve adult consumers until regulators have developed rules for licensing recreational retailers.
Sen. Rob McColley, (R), detailed the latest developments following negotiations during a lengthy recess in the committee on Wednesday. He stated that lawmakers “need to focus on stamping out black market,” and “protecting access that Ohioans voted” while also ensuring the administrative implementation runs as efficiently as possible, while protecting the opportunities for Ohioans to participate in this new industry.
Michael Rulli, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations (R), said that “over the last three to four days, many members of our public have reached out with thousands of email and hundreds, hundreds and hundreds calls.”
He said, “I believe the people have spoken.”
The committee’s approved legislation does not ban home cultivation but rather maintains the right of adults to grow six plants per individual. However, it limits the number of plants that can be grown in a household to six instead 12 as specified by the initiating statute.
The measure, originally attached to a House bill passed earlier this week on alcohol regulations, would have criminalized the possession of marijuana, unless it came from a licensed state retailer. These retailers could not begin sales until at least ONE YEAR after the date the law became effective. McColley explained that the original change has been removed in favor of language which “immediately permits” adults to purchase cannabis at existing dispensaries, as soon as an adult-use market becomes established. He explained that this could occur within 90 days of the passage of the bill.
The committee revised the bill in a way that provided for the automatic expungement of certain previous cannabis-related convictions. This reform was strongly supported by supporters, but it wasn’t included in Issue 2, which voters approved in part because ballot measures are limited to one subject.
Gov. Mike DeWine, speaking to reporters after the committee’s vote, stated that, while he didn’t support the ballot initiative for legalization, “we are bound to follow the wishes of the people unless this changes at some point.”
He said: “But we have to work to make it work, and protect those who do not want to be exposed marijuana smoke. We also need to protect the people who consume marijuana, to ensure that it’s pure, to ensure that it’s safe.” “I believe it’s an excellent bill. It’s imperative to pass this bill. We don’t want a situation in which the black market expands.
The amended Bill is a revision of the previous draft. It restores the 350-person limit for marijuana retailers, increases the THC level on cannabis extracts slightly (though still not at the level approved by the voters), and restores the original THC amount on flower. It also maintains the ban on home-grown marijuana being shared among adults, and revises the tax rate, and the revenue allocation.
The excise tax on marijuana would increase to 15 percent from the 10 percent set by the initiating statute. Local governments could also levy a tax up to 3 percent. The original amendment package included a proposed tax of 15 percent on cultivators. This was dropped.
The law calls for the expungement of $15 million from marijuana tax revenues. The remaining revenue will go towards law enforcement training at the Department of Public Safety (16%), an Attorney General’s Office law enforcement training fund (14%), a drug law enforcement fund (5%) and a poison control fund (2%) as well as substance abuse treatment (9%) and suicide hotline services (9%) and jail construction and renovation (28%) and safe driver training (5%) among other things.
The cannabis language was attached as an attachment to a noncontroversial measure passed by the House on alcohol regulations. It only requires a consent vote in the House. The Senate president Matt Huffman’s (R) expedited timeline does not expect that to happen. Instead, adults over 21 will be able to possess up to 2.5 ounces and grow up six plants starting on Thursday.
Huffman, along with other Republicans including the Governor, has insisted that voters only support the basic principle of legalizing cannabis , without necessarily supporting specific policies such as tax revenues. This argument is increasingly being rebuffed by advocates and stakeholders.
The House is also considering a different amendment to legalize marijuana, which was submitted by Rep. Jamie Callender. In its own hearing, the House Finance Committee discussed that legislation on Wednesday. It would have preserved home growing and other key elements of the voter’s initiative while making changes that were opposed by supporters.
Callender told the Senate president and governor directly at the hearing on Wednesday. They are concerned that we must pass something before midnight tonight, signed by both chambers. Only the two-and-a-half ounces of marijuana and six plants are allowed per household, or 12 per family. This is the effective date for this initiative law.
In the negotiations, we have maintained that these two items are fundamental to the outcome of the vote. Even if we, and hopefully, when, reach an agreement with Governor in the Senate, so long as these two items remained the same, as the people voted on it, there is still today.
The bill would keep home-grown marijuana, but would add residency requirements to where plants could be grown. This would prevent “multiple individuals from aggregating their plants in a single place, creating an unofficial facility”, as the sponsor stated in written testimony.
The law would also prohibit the sharing of marijuana among adults, even if it was home-grown. Callender says that the legislation would also add restrictions to advertising and marketing, which would bring marijuana in line with alcohol and tobacco laws.
The House bill would also impose a tax of 10 percent on the gross receipts of marijuana cultivators. The revenue from the cultivator’s tax would be used to create and renovate jails (36%), county sheriffs for areas where at least one cultivator is located (36%), law enforcement training (23%), and a crime victim assistance fund (5%)
The 36 percent of sales tax revenue that Issue 2 allocated for social equity programs will instead be distributed to counties to fund equity grants, a job placement programme, and “anything else that involves community engagement or economic development.”
The remaining 36 percent will go to local governments that have cannabis shops. Another 12.5% would support the 988 crisis and suicide lifeline.
The sponsor stated on Wednesday that “we’ll probably have some discussion and amend” tax provisions as well as “possibly” other things that come up “that I’m even not aware of”, before the legislation progresses through the House Committee next week.
Callender stated that the Ohio voters approved Issue 2 in November by a margin 56.97 percent, allowing adult use of cannabis in Ohio. “HB 354 is not intended to override or change the intention of Issue 2.” It aims instead to clarify the roles of the departments that will be responsible for administering and regulating cannabis for adult use in Ohio.
He said: “Another good reason to not rush through something today, but to instead thoughtfully approach our work [is] to ensure that everyone buys in to what we are doing – that everyone is comfortable and we can move ahead unified.” “We respect the integrity and the will of the people, but we also have flexibility within the framework.”
Callender was also asked about cannabis expungements. He said that he is “very supportive” and pointed to separate bipartisan legislation. He’s not against adding this to his amendment measure. Callender said that he wanted to “have a very wide-based support”, so it might be necessary to handle the issue separately.
In a hearing on Wednesday, Finance Committee Chair Jay Edwards (R), said that he “was ardently against Issue 2 which we just voted, but I think I will put my feet down and respect voters’ will.”
Does that mean we have to make some changes? He said that there were probably some changes to be made. “As the chair of this panel and the bills that go through it, I’ll do my best to respect the will of voters.” November is over. That election is done.
House Speaker Jason Stephens, who has long maintained that lawmakers should take more time to consider amendments to the initiating statutes, he has not weighed in with his opinion on Callender’s proposal. He did say that “we will discuss that.”
He said, “There are many different ideas about this and we will continue to discuss it.”
Some Democratic lawmakers have said they are open to revisions such as allocating certain cannabis tax revenues for K-12 education. However, supporters of the legalization initiative that was approved by the majority of voters do not want legislators to undermine the will that the majority of voters expressed.
Ohio Rep. Juanita Brent, (D), recently stressed that those who have been criminalized for marijuana, and those with industry expertise , should be included in any efforts to amend Ohio’s voter approved legalization law. She argued that it shouldn’t just be up to the “anti-cannabis’ legislators to revise this statute.
Rep. Gary Click filed a bill last week to allow local municipalities to ban the use of and home cultivation cannabis within their jurisdictions. It would also revise distribution of state marijuana tax revenues by, for instance, shifting funds from social equity programs and jobs to law enforcement training.
Rep. Cindy Abrams, (R), also introduced a Bill last month to revise marijuana laws by allocating 40 million dollars in cannabis taxes towards law enforcement training each year.
Marijuana Moment tracks more than 1,000 cannabis and psychedelic bills that have been introduced in state legislatures, and Congress. Patreon supporters who pledge at least $25/month gain access to our interactive charts, maps and hearing calendar.
Discover more about our marijuana bills tracker. Become a Patreon supporter to gain access.
—
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 repeal a legalization law passed by voters. The Senate President confirmed that repeal was not on the agenda for the next year.
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 the voters.
The GOP-controlled Senate, which was responsible for the early voting that began in October, passed a Resolution encouraging residents to reject Measure.
Rep. Dave Joyce, the co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus said in September that he will 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, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee (D-OH), said that he voted for the ballot initiative in late October. He called it a hard decision but one based on the belief that this reform would promote “safety” for consumers.
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 that “the Ohio vote was a big exclamation mark on the things we have been talking about.”
We’ve been stating for years that this issue is gaining momentum and has a broad appeal. 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 really changed” with regards to President Joe Biden’s position on marijuana. They declined to state if they supported Ohio’s decision to legalize the drug or if they supported 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.
Massachusetts Psychedelics activists say local election clerks certified more than enough signatures for 2024 legalization initiative
Photo by Mike Latimer.
The post Ohio Senate Committee Adopts Bill to Allow Marijuana Sale From Dispensaries Immediately, Keep Home Grown And Expunge Records first appeared on Marijuana Minute.
