COLUMBUS – An Ohio House committee on Wednesday took up a bill that would make sweeping changes to the state’s voter-approved cannabis law—by creating new criminal penalties, eliminating equity programs and putting limits on legal products.
Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee did vote on the underlying measure—HB 160, from Rep. Brian Stewart (R)—saying they expect to move forward slowly and carefully, though they spent close to 40 minutes discussing the proposal and adopted a six-page amendment.
Asked by the panel whether he wanted the bill to be fast-tracked or whether there would be more time to dig into details, Stewart said he didn’t expect lawmakers to rush.
“This is something we would like to have passed by June,” he replied, “not within the next couple of weeks.”
A number of other panel members said they had pages’ worth of questions about the bill and still want more clarity.
HB 160 is one of several pieces of legislation so far that could make major changes to Ohio’s marijuana legalization law, passed by voters in 2023. Reform advocates, for their part, have said the efforts represent an attempt to undermine the will of voters.
Another bill, seen as even more restrictive, is SB 56, from Sen. Steve Huffman (R). The Senate passed that measure in February on a 23–9 vote. A separate budget measure from Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is also a potential vehicle for changes. As proposed, it would remove local tax allocations of medical marijuana revenue and double the state cannabis tax rate to 20 percent—though legislative leaders have said they will be removing the tax increases.
A number of other panel members said they had pages’ worth of questions about the bill and still want more clarity.
The House bill would make a variety of changes to state cannabis law around legal products and activities, creating a host of new criminal charges. It would also delete voter-approved social equity provisions and adjust how business licenses are awarded.
Sponsor Stewart said at the hearing that the proposal “adds more specific guidelines for the sale of marijuana and similar substances, while maintaining the overall will of the voters, who voted yes to legalize adult use marijuana in Ohio.”
He acknowledged that a lot of the provisions in his bill “are taken from the bills that are passed in the Senate.”
“I think it’s more just legislative reality of, you know, if we’re going to get a bill through both chambers, we need to incorporate some of what both chambers have wanted to see,” he said of the proposals moving forward, “even if those may not be things that necessarily animate me personally.”
While the House bill would in general take a more restrictive approach to legalization than the voter-approved law, it also includes a few provisions that cannabis reform supporters might find welcome.
For example, it would establish a program allowing individuals to request the expungement of criminal records for past marijuana possession cases—a request that would cost applicants $50. It would also remove a prohibition on marijuana retailers providing products samples to customers.
Read more at Marijuana Moment
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