COLOMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio home has introduced rival bills to restrictive marijuana reforms in the Senate. But this is more gentle. Maintains the amount of plants allowed to grow, but limits THC content.
Voters overwhelmingly passed Issue 2 in 2023. Lawmakers are now trying to change that.
What does marijuana restriction mean to you?
Related: I voted to legalize marijuana, but it’s restricted. This is what it means.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, finance chair Brian Stewart introduced a bill to regulate access to marijuana.
“The bill respects the will of voters, but by passing the law launched, it acknowledged that supporters and supporters in question understood and accepted that the marijuana law is subject to certain reasonable reforms by the Ohio Legislature,” Stewart said.
First, let’s break down the current law. If you are over 21 years old, you can smoke, smoke and consume marijuana. You can grow six plants individually, but if you live with others, you can grow up to 12 plants per household.
You can have up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in any form, except for concentrates.
The law gives 10% tax revenue from each marijuana sale to four different venues of marijuana. 36% will support social equity funds to those who are disproportionately affected by marijuana-related laws. 36% to host cities – what has pharmacies. 25% of the state’s Mental Health and Addiction Services division. 3% in the state’s cannabis regulation sector.
The Ohio Senate is facing an immense rebound over the passage of SB 56, most notably reducing the THC content of its products and limiting homes growing into six plants.
house
The House of Representatives version of the legislative legislation is a mild, yet still a restrictive type of bill compared to the Senate bill.
The law is 120 pages long, but these are the most prominent aspects.
It does not limit the cultivation of homes, keeping the number of plants at 12 per household. Keep the level of ownership at the same level.
But like the Senate, it reduces the content of the THC, psychoactive cannabinoids of marijuana, the product. Mainly reduces the tolerable THC levels in adult extracts up to 90% to 70%.
Unlike other rooms, the house does not limit how many milligrams there are in the package. This means a closed container picked up at the clinic. The Senate caps 100 milligrams per package and 10mg per individual serving.
The house version appears to allow more opportunities for smoking outside someone’s private residence, such as a porch. Legal experts said the Senate version would ban all public smoking, including outside private property.
Like the Senate, it limits the number of pharmacies allowed. Both versions are limited to 350.
The house version touches on the Delta 8, which Gov. Mike DeWine often calls it “drinking hemp.” Now it’s legal for anyone to buy this low level of marijuana at a convenience store. There are also different processes for getting on the shelf. For more information about hemp, click here.
It can be sold as long as the THC concentration level is .03%, but later states that it is capped with a total of THC of 2 milligrams per package. It cannot exceed .05% per serving.
Excise tax is kept at 10%, but it changes completely to your income. It will go directly to the Marijuana Receipt Fund, created at the state treasurer’s office. They can earn investments and states can manage tax refunds when needed.
Stewart said local governments with clinics receive 20% of sales over five years, over five years.
Eventually, the money goes to the state’s general income fund and puts all the money in one pot.
The House bill, like the Senate, will place restrictions on advertising and prevent packages from appealing to children.
Voters’ will
“To voters who say this isn’t what they chose and that they spoke, they don’t want it to be reduced to 70%, they don’t want the tax to go to the General Income Fund,” I asked.
“I think there’s the core of making it clear that voters wanted it. Virtually all the discussion and public testimony about this, “I want to legalize marijuana, I want to tax it at 10%, but I want to raise it at home,” the lawmaker replied. “Beyond that, I think there is a great printing that isn’t too important to people when deciding how they voted.
He went on to add that voters have advanced this as an inaugurated law.
“The idea that we’re going to pass the law, that it’s a law for the end of time and that it’s never subject to a democratic process is unrealistic, right?” he said. “If you put something into the law that was launched, it’s left within the realm of the democratic process. So I think you’re making very few changes here. I think you contacted my office and said, ‘Hey, I don’t want any particular restrictions on Issue 2’.
“Do you hint that voters didn’t read the entire second issue and didn’t know they were voting?” I asked.
I don’t know what all voters did or didn’t,” he replied. There is a 10% tax rate. It’s legal. You can do it at home. It does not touch on the core of problem 2. ”
Do you have a question? Let me know and I will answer them.
I have continued to cover every change in the marijuana policy that lawmakers are trying to make.
There is also a series that answers questions about cannabis in Ohio. Please email us with written questions or videos of your questions to be featured in the next addition. Submit your question to morgan.trau@wews.com with the subject “Marijuana Questions.”
Previous installments have focused on learning the basics of law and how to buy it before the legal sales that opened in August 2024 began. I then answered questions about where I would be involved and employment concerns.
Follow Wews Statehouse Reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
