www.marijuanamoment.net
Open in
urlscan Pro
2606:4700:3036::ac43:d5b3
Public Scan
URL:
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/ohio-senate-marijuana-bill-keeps-criminalization-and-undermines-equity-despite-expungements-and-...
Submission: On December 08 via manual from US — Scanned from US
Submission: On December 08 via manual from US — Scanned from US
Form analysis 3 forms found in the DOM
GET https://www.marijuanamoment.net/
<form method="get" id="searchform" action="https://www.marijuanamoment.net/">
<input type="text" name="s" id="s" value="Search" onfocus="if (this.value == "Search") { this.value = ""; }" onblur="if (this.value == "") { this.value = "Search"; }">
<input type="hidden" id="searchsubmit" value="Search">
</form>POST
<form id="mc4wp-form-2" class="mc4wp-form mc4wp-form-869" method="post" data-id="869" data-name="Marijuana News In Your Inbox">
<div class="mc4wp-form-fields">
<p>
<label>Email address: </label>
<input type="email" name="EMAIL" placeholder="Your email address" required="">
</p>
<p>
<input type="submit" value="Sign up">
</p>
</div><label style="display: none !important;">Leave this field empty if you're human: <input type="text" name="_mc4wp_honeypot" value="" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off"></label><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_timestamp"
value="1702043604"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_id" value="869"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_element_id" value="mc4wp-form-2">
<div class="mc4wp-response"></div>
</form>POST
<form id="mc4wp-form-3" class="mc4wp-form mc4wp-form-869" method="post" data-id="869" data-name="Marijuana News In Your Inbox">
<div class="mc4wp-form-fields">
<p>
<label>Email address: </label>
<input type="email" name="EMAIL" placeholder="Your email address" required="">
</p>
<p>
<input type="submit" value="Sign up">
</p>
</div><label style="display: none !important;">Leave this field empty if you're human: <input type="text" name="_mc4wp_honeypot" value="" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off"></label><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_timestamp"
value="1702043604"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_id" value="869"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_element_id" value="mc4wp-form-3">
<div class="mc4wp-response"></div>
</form>Text Content
* Politics
* Science & Health
* Culture
* Business
* Video
* Newsletter
* Subscribe
* Remove Ads
* Bill Tracking
* About
* Login Instructions
* All 2023 Cannabis Bills
* Bill Hearing Calendar
* About Marijuana Moment
* Support Marijuana Moment
* Subscribe To Newsletter
Connect with us
*
*
*
MARIJUANA MOMENT
OHIO SENATE MARIJUANA BILL KEEPS CRIMINALIZATION AND UNDERMINES EQUITY, DESPITE
EXPUNGEMENTS AND HOME GROW, ADVOCATES WARN
* Politics
* Senator Presses Top Bankers On Their Commitment To Social Equity In
Marijuana Banking Reform
* Feds Release 250+ Pages Of Redacted Documents On Marijuana Rescheduling
Recommendation, Detailing Cannabis’s Medical Value
* Ohio Senate Marijuana Bill Keeps Criminalization And Undermines Equity,
Despite Expungements And Home Grow, Advocates Warn
* Cleveland Updates Pre-Employment Drug Testing Policies For Most City
Workers As Ohio Marijuana Legalization Takes Effect
* Republican Congressman Files New Bill To End Marijuana Prohibition In
Legal States, Allow Interstate Commerce And Lift 280E Tax Blockade
* Science & Health
* Psilocybin’s ‘Efficacy And Safety’ For Bipolar II Depression Demonstrated
By American Medical Association Study
* Study Finds ‘No Evidence’ That Medical Marijuana Causes Cognitive
Impairment In Patients With Chronic Health Problems
* States Where Marijuana Is Illegal Typically See Higher Rates Of Treatment
Admissions, Federal Study Says
* Top Federal Agency Promotes New Marijuana Research Center Amid Scientists’
Complaints About ‘Complex’ Study ‘Barriers’ Under Prohibition
* Young Adults Report ‘Significantly’ Lower Rates Of Alcohol And Tobacco Use
Following Marijuana Legalization, Study Finds
* Culture
* SXSW Announces 2024 Lineup, Leaning Into Psychedelics While Nixing
Cannabis Track
* Jimmy Kimmel Proclaims October 20—Snoop Dogg’s Birthday And Midpoint To
4/20—As New Marijuana Holiday Called ‘DoggFather’s Day’
* NCAA Panel Formally Recommends Removing Marijuana From Banned Substances
List For College Athletes
* Illinois Concert This Weekend Will Be State’s First To Allow On-Site
Marijuana Consumption
* World Anti-Doping Agency Experts Say Marijuana Use Violates The ‘Spirit Of
Sport’ And Makes Athletes Unfit Role Models
* Business
* Trade Group Offers Guidance To Marijuana Businesses On How To Find Banking
Services Amid Federal Prohibition
* Illinois Marijuana Retailers Set Record For Sales To In-State Residents,
Selling Most Individual Cannabis Products In Any Month Since Launch
* Missouri Marijuana Workers Push To Unionize Dispensaries Despite
Resistance From Management
* California And New York State Officials Tell People To Buy Marijuana On
Black Friday
* Missouri Marijuana Businesses Have Sold More Than $1 Billion In Cannabis
Products In 2023
* Video
* Senator Presses Top Bankers On Their Commitment To Social Equity In
Marijuana Banking Reform
* Key GOP Congressman Says Washington, D.C. Should Be Able To Legalize
Marijuana Sales Without Federal Interference
* Ohio Senate Approves Bill To Allow Marijuana Sales From Dispensaries
‘Immediately’, Keep Home Grow And Expunge Records
* Ohio Senate Committee Advances Bill To Eliminate Marijuana Home Grow,
Reduce Possession Limits And Raise Taxes—Days Before Legalization Takes
Effect
* Ohio GOP Senate President Outlines Plan To Amend Voter-Approved Marijuana
Law Next Week, Days Before Legalization Takes Effect
* Newsletter
* Interstate cannabis commerce bill in Congress (Newsletter: December 8,
2023)
* DEA threatens pharmacies over cannabis (Newsletter: December 7, 2023)
* Govs push Biden on cannabis rescheduling by end of year (Newsletter:
December 6, 2023)
* OH cannabis homegrow targeted for repeal (Newsletter: December 5, 2023)
* Feds’ cannabis report deadline (Newsletter: December 4, 2023)
* Subscribe
* Remove Ads
* Bill Tracking
* About
* Login Instructions
* All 2023 Cannabis Bills
* Bill Hearing Calendar
* About Marijuana Moment
* Support Marijuana Moment
* Subscribe To Newsletter
POLITICS
OHIO SENATE MARIJUANA BILL KEEPS CRIMINALIZATION AND UNDERMINES EQUITY, DESPITE
EXPUNGEMENTS AND HOME GROW, ADVOCATES WARN
Published
15 hours ago
on
December 7, 2023
By
Kyle Jaeger
Ohio’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law took effect on Thursday—but as
lawmakers continue to push changes, advocates are calling attention to key
provisions of a Senate-passed proposal that they say threatens to perpetuate
criminalization and undermine social equity even while it walks back other
significant alterations that were initially proposed such as a removal home
cultivation rights.
At the same time, House lawmakers held a second hearing on Thursday about a
separate measure to amend the legalization law.
After weeks of discussing revisions to the initiated statute, Republicans first
unveiled legislation this week that would have done away with home grow, hiked
marijuana taxes and re-criminalized possession of cannabis that wasn’t obtained
from licensed retailers, which couldn’t open for at least one year. Some
advocates were tentatively encouraged, therefore, when a significantly revised
version with seeming improvements, including the restoration of home grow rights
and addition of expungements provisions, was released and quickly advanced
through the Senate with near-unanimous support on Wednesday.
But the brief discussion of the bill in committee prior to the full chamber
vote—which also came amid House consideration of a separate GOP-led measure—did
not adequately reflect the substantive changes that would be made to the law
voters passed with 57 percent support, equity advocates say.
While senators reversed track on home cultivation (albeit, limiting households
to six plants rather than 12) and also proposed opening up sales for adult
consumers from existing dispensaries on an expedited timeline, criticism has
surfaced over other issues—including the diversion of marijuana tax revenue
funding for a social equity fund, restrictive rules for where cannabis could be
consumed, THC limits and the removal of certain anti-discrimination protections.
All of this comes as key components of the legalization law have already taken
effect, allowing adults 21 and older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and
grow up to six plants. Republican leaders, including Gov. Mike DeWine (R), aimed
to enact changes to the program before the effective date on Thursday, but that
failed to happen in time.
One aspect of the Senate-passed legislation that took people by surprise was the
addition of expungements language that was not included in the voter-approved
Issue 2, in large part due to a single-subject rule for ballot initiatives. But
while one senator described the relief as “automatic” in committee on Wednesday,
the bill only says that the attorney general shall create a process to reimburse
people for costs associated with proactively petitioning the court for
expungements of prior convictions involving possession of up to 2.5 ounces of
cannabis.
Another contention with the revised measure concerns the complete removal of
social equity funding that the initiative earmarked from marijuana tax revenue.
As passed by voters, the law calls for 36 percent of those tax dollars to
support equity and job placement. The Senate bill eliminates that fund
altogether and instead distributes significant revenue toward law enforcement
training.
Also, the legislation would prohibit sharing of marijuana between adults,
mandate strict rules on transporting and storing cannabis, impose a three-day
mandatory minimum jail sentence for passengers who consume cannabis in a car and
set a cap on THC content in marijuana products that some view as incompatible
with the legal availability of flower.
“This bill would be a slap in the face to Ohio voters who decidedly passed a
voter initiative that, while imperfect, had social equity at its core,” Cat
Packer, vice chair of Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC) and director
of drug markets and legal regulation at the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), told
Marijuana Moment.
“Instead of advancing social equity, this bill would double down on the war on
drugs approach—creating new penalties, gutting equity provisions and redirecting
funds from social equity programs to law enforcement. literally drug war 2.0,”
she said. “Ohio lawmakers are hoping that folks are distracted by conversations
about home grow and the opportunity to purchase adult-use cannabis sooner while
they gut social equity—a main tenet of the voter initiative. Ohioans deserve
better.”
One of the issues that was raised during public testimony on Tuesday was the
Senate bill’s initial proposal to prohibit the possession and use of cannabis
that’s not obtained from state-licensed retailers. Advocates ideologically
opposed the limitation on legalization but also pointed out that the way the
legislation made it so retailers couldn’t start sales for at least another year.
Further, there was no mandate for regulators to approve retailer licenses by a
certain date, potentially extending the implementation of legalization
indefinitely.
That was revised—but the way the bill is drafted would still only legalize
possession of marijuana from retailers or home-cultivated products. People could
not, for example, buy marijuana in another legal state and legally possess it in
Ohio, a loophole activists worry will be used as a pretext by law enforcement to
continue prosecuting people over the plant.
As revised, however, the measure would permit existing medical cannabis
dispensaries to start serving adult-use consumers within 90 days of enactment,
rather than nine months under Issue 2’s provisions.
Among the other consequential changes outlined in the amended Senate bill is the
removal of anti-discrimination provisions concerning cannabis consumer rights in
child custody and eligibility for organ transplants.
The marijuana excise tax would be set at 15 percent (up from 10 percent under
the initiated statute), and local governments could levy an additional tax of up
to three percent. The proposed 15 percent cultivator tax that was originally in
the amendment package was removed.
The legislation calls for $15 million in marijuana tax revenue to go toward
expungements. The remaining revenue would go to a Department of Public Safety
law enforcement training (16 percent), an attorney general’s office law
enforcement training fund (14 percent), drug law enforcement fund (five
percent), poison control fund (two percent), substance misuse treatment (nine
percent), suicide hotline services (nine percent), jail construction and
renovation (28 percent), safe driver training (five percent) and more.
Also, the bill reduces the THC cap on adult-use marijuana extracts to 50
percent, rather than 90 percent under Issue 2. And it would further reduce the
canopy limits on cultivation facilities, which stakeholders say could prevent
adequate supply of the market and potentially drive up prices.
“Thousands of outraged voters convinced the Senate to walk back its proposed
gutting of home cultivation and to add a couple of positive provisions to HB
86—limited expungement and earlier sales,” Karen O’Keefe, director of state
policies at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Marijuana Moment. “But the
Senate’s gut-and-replace of Issue 2 still ramps up criminalization, increases
taxes, caps potency, makes the sale of flower impossible, eliminates social
equity, and does away with protections for child custody, organ transplants, and
benefits.”
Because the cannabis language was attached to a non-controversial House-passed
measure on alcohol regulations, it only needs a concurrence vote in the House,
which does not reconvene again until next week.
But it remains to be seen how the House will address the Senate proposal,
especially given that it is actively considering a separate measure from Rep.
Jamie Callender (R) that would revise the marijuana initiated statute in
different ways. That legislation was taken up by the House Finance Committee
during a second hearing on Thursday featuring advocates, business stakeholders,
health officials and others.
While it would also keep home grow, the bill from Callender, who introduced
another bipartisan bill to legalize marijuana this session, would add residency
requirements for where plants can be cultivated to avoid “multiple individuals
aggregating their home grow plants into a single location, in essence creating
an unofficial cultivation facility,” the sponsor said in written testimony.
The legislation would further strictly prohibit sharing of marijuana between
adults, including giving away home-grown cannabis. And it would add advertising
and marketing restrictions that Callender said would align marijuana rules with
those in place for alcohol and tobacco.
In addition to the 10 percent excise tax on marijuana sales, the House bill
would impose a 10 percent tax on cultivators’ gross receipts. Revenue from the
cultivator tax would go toward creating and renovating jails (36 percent),
county sheriffs in areas with at least one cultivator (36 percent), law
enforcement training (23 percent) and a crime victims assistance fund (five
percent).
For the sales tax revenue, the 36 percent that Issue 2 allocated to social
equity programs would instead go to counties for the purposes of funding equity
grants and a job placement program, as well as “any other purpose that involves
community engagement, economic development, or social programming.”
Another 36 percent would go to local governments with cannabis shops, 12.5
percent would support the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, 10 percent would fund
mental health treatment in county jails, three percent would cover
administrative costs of regulating the cannabis market and 2.5 percent would go
to a substance misuse treatment fund.
House Speaker Jason Stephens (R)—who has maintained that legislators should more
thoughtfully address amendments to the initiated statute, even if that takes
more time—hasn’t weighed in on the merits of Callender’s bill but said “we will
have discussions on that.”
“There are a lot of different ideas that are going on about it and we’ll
continue the discussion,” he said.
While some Democratic lawmakers have indicated that they may be amenable to
certain revisions, such as putting certain cannabis tax revenue toward K-12
education, other supporters of the voter-passed legalization initiative are
firmly against letting legislators undermine the will of the majority that
approved it.
Ohio Rep. Juanita Brent (D) recently emphasized that people who’ve been
criminalized over marijuana, as well as those with industry experience, should
be involved in any efforts to amend the state’s voter-approved legalization law,
arguing that it shouldn’t be left up to “anti-cannabis” legislators alone to
revise the statute.
Meanwhile, Rep. Gary Click (R) filed legislation last week that would allow
individual municipalities to locally ban the use and home cultivation of
cannabis in their jurisdictions and also revise how state marijuana tax revenue
would be distributed by, for example, reducing funds allocated to social equity
and jobs programs and instead steering them toward law enforcement training.
Rep. Cindy Abrams (R) also introduced a bill last month that would revise the
marijuana law by putting $40 million in cannabis tax dollars toward law
enforcement training annually.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters
pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and
hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to
get access.
—
The Ohio Department of Commerce was quick to publish an FAQ guide for residents
to learn about the new law and timeline for implementation, though regulators
repeatedly noted that the policies may be subject to change depending on how the
legislature acts.
Prohibitionist organizations that campaigned against Issue 2, meanwhile, are set
on a fundamental undermining of the newly approved law, with some describing
plans to pressure the legislature to entirely repeal legalization before it’s
even implemented.
For what it’s worth, a number of Ohio lawmakers said in September that
they doubted the legislature would seek to repeal a voter-passed legalization
law. The Senate president affirmed repeal wasn’t part of the agenda, at least
not in the next year.
Voters were only able to decide on the issue after lawmakers declined to take
the opportunity to pass their own reform as part of the ballot qualification
process. They were given months to enact legalization that they could have
molded to address their outstanding concerns, but the legislature ultimately
deferred to voters by default.
As early voting kicked off in late October, the GOP-controlled Senate passed a
resolution urging residents to reject measure.
Unlike the top state Republican lawmakers, one of the state’s GOP
representatives in Congress—Rep. Dave Joyce, co-chair of the Congressional
Cannabis Caucus, said in September that he would be voting in favor of the
initiative in November. He encouraged “all Ohio voters to participate and make
their voices heard on this important issue.”
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said in late October he
voted in favor of the legalization ballot initiative, calling it a “hard
decision” but one that was based on his belief that the reform would promote
“safety” for consumers.
Meanwhile, Vivek Ramaswamy, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, said he
voted against a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in Ohio because he’s
concerned the federal government could “weaponize” criminalization against
people who are engaged in state-legal cannabis activities under the “fake”
pretense that they’re protected from federal prosecution.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), for his part, said recently that
Ohio’s vote to legalize marijuana at the ballot is one of the latest examples of
how Americans are rejecting “MAGA extremism,” and he added that he’s committed
to continuing to work on a bipartisan basis “to keep moving on bipartisan
cannabis legislation as soon as we can.”
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told
Marijuana Moment that “the vote in Ohio was a great big exclamation point on the
things we’ve been talking about.”
“We’ve been saying for years how this issue has crested, how it’s got broad
momentum, how it is inclusive. It’s sort of like the success with the [Ohio
abortion rights] issue—except this was more pronounced,” he said. “We got more
votes than the abortion issue. We get more votes than anybody on the ballot.”
The White House has separately said that “nothing has changed” with President
Joe Biden’s stance on marijuana, declining to say if he supports Ohio’s vote to
legalize or whether he backs further reform of federal cannabis laws.
Meanwhile, as Ohio voters approved statewide legalization, activists also
chalked up a series of little-noticed wins to decriminalize larger amounts of
cannabis in three Ohio cities, according to preliminary county election results.
> Cleveland Updates Pre-Employment Drug Testing Policies For Most City Workers
> As Ohio Marijuana Legalization Takes Effect
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.
Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our
cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon
pledge.
Related Topics:featured
Up Next
Feds Release 250+ Pages Of Redacted Documents On Marijuana Rescheduling
Recommendation, Detailing Cannabis’s Medical Value
Don't Miss
Cleveland Updates Pre-Employment Drug Testing Policies For Most City Workers As
Ohio Marijuana Legalization Takes Effect
Kyle Jaeger
Kyle Jaeger is Marijuana Moment's Sacramento-based managing editor. His work has
also appeared in High Times, VICE and attn.
YOU MAY LIKE
Senator Presses Top Bankers On Their Commitment To Social Equity In Marijuana
Banking Reform
Interstate cannabis commerce bill in Congress (Newsletter: December 8, 2023)
Feds Release 250+ Pages Of Redacted Documents On Marijuana Rescheduling
Recommendation, Detailing Cannabis’s Medical Value
Cleveland Updates Pre-Employment Drug Testing Policies For Most City Workers As
Ohio Marijuana Legalization Takes Effect
Republican Congressman Files New Bill To End Marijuana Prohibition In Legal
States, Allow Interstate Commerce And Lift 280E Tax Blockade
New York Officials Promote Medical Marijuana Program, Encouraging Dispensary
Applicants Amid Adult-Use Legalization Rollout
Advertisement
MARIJUANA NEWS IN YOUR INBOX
Email address:
Leave this field empty if you're human:
SUPPORT MARIJUANA MOMENT
*
*
*
* About Marijuana Moment
* Subscribe
* Sponsorship and Advertising
* Privacy Policy
All the cannabis news you need, all in one place. Copyright © 2017-2024
Marijuana Moment LLC ® and Tom Angell
Information from your device can be used to personalize your ad experience.
Do not sell or share my personal information.
A Raptive Partner Site
MARIJUANA NEWS IN YOUR INBOX
Email address:
Leave this field empty if you're human:
Marijuana Moment
✕
Do not sell or share my personal information.
You have chosen to opt-out of the sale or sharing of your information from this
site and any of its affiliates. To opt back in please click the "Customize my ad
experience" link.
This site collects information through the use of cookies and other tracking
tools. Cookies and these tools do not contain any information that personally
identifies a user, but personal information that would be stored about you may
be linked to the information stored in and obtained from them. This information
would be used and shared for Analytics, Ad Serving, Interest Based Advertising,
among other purposes.
For more information please visit this site's Privacy Policy.
CANCEL
CONTINUE