Ohio's Marijuana program will be led by a former prosecutor and top alcohol regulator

Ohio’s top regulator of alcohol, who was previously a prosecutor, will lead the newly created marijuana division in the state. This is being done under the legalization laws that voters approved last month. He says that his experience in both the retail industry as well as law enforcement will be “central” to his cannabis initiatives.

Sherry Maxifield, Director of the Department of Commerce (DOC), announced on Thursday the selection of James Canepa to be the first Superintendent of the Division of Cannabis Control. legislators continue to look for ways to amend, the newly passed law.

Canepa, who has been the Division of Liquor Control’s Superintendent for six years now, is responsible for overseeing the alcohol industry in the state and working with stakeholders to address issues such as inventory tracking.

Before his work as a marijuana regulator, the new superintendent served in a number of positions, including the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Chief Counsel for the Ohio Department of Public Safety and Franklin County Appellate Prosecutor.

Jim Canepa was named the Division of Cannabis Control’s first leader this afternoon. https://t.co/b3s7MpGs3b pic.twitter.com/wnDP5R8F1F

Ohio Commerce (@OhioCommerce December 14, 2020

Canepa spent the past few weeks advising state’s Medical Marijuana Control Program about “rulemaking alternatives” related to state’s adult use market, which is being implemented under Issue 2.

In a press statement, the DOC director stated that “Jim’s demonstrated leadership and innovative approach makes him the perfect candidate to navigate this new retail and regulatory area.” His diverse experience and impressive credentials in the regulatory field will be crucial to developing a nonmedical cannabis program aligned with Ohioans’ expectations.

Canepa said he was “humbled” by the chance to implement an innovative program in a responsible, safe and efficient manner.

He said, “I have had the good fortune to work in both the law enforcement industry and retail for many years.” Both experiences will be key to the work already underway in this area within the Department of Commerce.

Canepa has a long history in law enforcement, which may be able to transfer his expertise in alcohol regulation to the cannabis industry. However, this background is likely to raise eyebrows with advocates who have pushed hard for the separation of the marijuana market, now legal, from the police.

As GOP Ohio legislators push for amendments in the state’s new legalization law, which went into effect at the start of the month., activists have strongly criticized proposals that redirect revenue to law enforcement funds. They argue that this is against the will of voters, who passed a law prioritizing revenue to promote social equity.

The Senate may have passed a legislative package last week to amend the law, but the House did not ratify it before the lawmakers left for the year. This means that the rules approved by the voters will remain in place until at least the beginning of 2024. Over the past week, a House committee held hearings on an amendment measure. However, members did not act on it.

In Issue 2, the DOC has been given the authority to “license and regulate adult-use cannabis operators, adult-use testing laboratories and individuals who are required to be licensed.”

After the vote last month, the department published a FAQ guide to help residents learn more about the new law, including the timeline for its implementation. On Thursday, it announced that Greg McIlvaine will take over as the director of policy for the existing medical marijuana program in the state.

Mike DeWine (R) has insisted that voters only support the fundamental principle of legalizing marijuana, without necessarily supporting specific policies around issues such as tax revenue. Mike DeWine, a Republican, has insisted that voters only support the principle of legalizing pot and not necessarily specific policies such as tax revenue. They have said this justifies their efforts at amending the law.

Some Democratic lawmakers have said they are open to revisions such as allocating certain cannabis tax revenues towards 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 legislation this month 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 law. 40 million dollars in cannabis tax money would be used annually for law enforcement training.

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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 foreseeable future.

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 voters were ultimately left to decide by default.

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 he’d vote in favor of this initiative in November. He encouraged “all Ohio citizens to take part and have their voices heard about this important issue.”

Sherrod BROWN (D-OH), the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said that he voted for the ballot initiative in late October. He called it a hard decision but he believed that this reform would improve “safety” among 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 saying this for years, that the issue is gaining momentum and 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 decision to legalize marijuana 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.