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Politics Cannabis


‘THIS IS NOT WHAT VOTERS WANTED’: AFTER OHIO VOTERS APPROVE LEGAL WEED, SENATE
GOP MOVES TO BAN HOME GROWTH AND GUT SEVERAL PROVISIONS


THE CHANGES EMERGED SUDDENLY IN COMMITTEE JUST DAYS BEFORE THE NEW LAW IS SET TO
TAKE EFFECT, THOUGH THEIR FATE IN THE FULL SENATE AND THE GOP-LED HOUSE IS STILL
UNCLEAR.

BY
Samantha Hendrickson
 AND 
The Associated Press
December 05, 2023 6:18 AM EST

Voters want legal marijuana in Ohio, but do representatives? Getty Images

Banning marijuana growing at home, increasing the substance’s tax rate and
altering how those taxes get distributed are among vast changes Ohio Senate
Republicans proposed Monday to a marijuana legalization measure approved by
voters last month.

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Banning marijuana growing at home, increasing the substance’s tax rate and
altering how those taxes get distributed are among vast changes Ohio Senate
Republicans proposed Monday to a marijuana legalization measure approved by
voters last month.



The changes emerged suddenly in committee just days before the new law is set to
take effect, though their fate in the full Senate and the GOP-led House is still
unclear.



The ballot measure, dubbed Issue 2, passed on the Nov. 7 election with 57% of
the vote and it set to become law this Thursday, making Ohio the 24th state to
legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. But as a citizen-initiated
statute, the Legislature is free to make tweaks on it, of which they’re
attempting plenty.

“The goal of this committee is to provide the people’s wishes with a safe
product,” Sen. Michael Rulli, a Columbiana County Republican, said during a
meeting of the Senate General Government Committee, where the changes were
tacked onto an unrelated alcohol regulation bill.



Tom Haren, a spokesperson for the pro-Issue 2 campaign Regulate Marijuana Like
Alcohol, harshly criticized the Senate rewrite.



“Some in the Ohio Senate propose to gut Issue 2’s most important provisions,
including home grow and social equity, and to put in place higher taxes that
will entrench the illicit market and force Ohioans to continue to buy their
cannabis products in Michigan,” he said in a statement. “This is not what voters
wanted.”

The Senate changes still have a long way to go, however.

If they clear the Senate floor, the Republican-majority House, which leans more
in favor of overall recreational marijuana legalization than the Senate, would
still have to agree to the many changes. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, who has supported
going along with at least the basics approved by voters, also must sign off on
them.



Senate changes would prohibit growing marijuana at home, a departure from
provisions approved by voters that allow individual Ohioans to grow up to six
plants at home and up to 12 per household.

The Senate’s proposal also would increase the approved tax on marijuana products
of 10% to 15%. Cultivators would also be taxed at that rate under the revisions.

Tax revenue would go toward general state funding, law enforcement training,
substance abuse treatment and prevention and safe driving training. Under the
original statute, that revenue would have gone to local governments hosting
dispensaries and a social equity program supporting those who wish to break into
the cannabis industry.



The elimination is meant to keep most of the tax revenue from simply going back
to the industry rather than benefitting state, according to northern Ohio
Republican Sen. Rob McColley.

Senate legislation would also reduce the amount of recreational marijuana
someone can legally possess at a time, as well as lower the legal THC levels for
marijuana plants, from the statute’s original 90% to 50%, and the levels for
extracts, from the original 35% to 25%.

GOP senators also proposed several efforts to protect children from consuming or
being exposed to marijuana use — a priority for the governor. Under the new
measure, marijuana products would have to be sold in child-safe packaging and
could not resemble any animals, fruit or fictional characters such as those from
cartoons.



Advertisers would also be banned from utilizing any media or pop culture figures
whose target audience is children to sell marijuana products, and dispensaries
could not exist within 500 feet (152 meters) of a school, church, public library
or public park.

The changes also address what opponents to Issue 2 said were “ambiguous” rules
around public consumption. Non-smoking products such as edibles could be
consumed publicly unless prohibited by a private establishment, but any smoking
or vaping of the drug would be banned unless inside an individual’s home.
However, landlords could still ban tenants from smoking.

Employers would also be able to set their own rules for their employee’s
cannabis use and testing and can fire them for use without worrying about
violating discrimination laws.



Scott Milburn, a spokesperson for the anti-Issue 2 campaign Protect Ohio Workers
and Families, said in a statement that the changes make the measure “less
dangerous to Ohioans and less self-serving to the industry.”

State Sen. Bill DeMora, a Columbus Democrat, slammed the changes as ignoring the
will of the voters — especially the elimination of home growing, diverting tax
revenue intended for local governments and lowering the THC levels.

“The voters’ intent is nowhere to be found in what I call a shell of what the
voters passed,” DeMora said Monday during committee.

___

Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for
America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national
service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on
undercovered issues.





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