{"id":69979,"date":"2023-11-08T08:32:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T16:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/11\/08\/top-gop-ohio-lawmakers-and-prohibitionist-groups-push-to-overturn-voter-approved-marijuana-legalization-initiative-or-amend-key-provisions\/"},"modified":"2023-11-08T19:46:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T03:46:40","slug":"top-gop-ohio-lawmakers-and-prohibitionist-groups-push-to-overturn-voter-approved-marijuana-legalization-initiative-or-amend-key-provisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/11\/08\/top-gop-ohio-lawmakers-and-prohibitionist-groups-push-to-overturn-voter-approved-marijuana-legalization-initiative-or-amend-key-provisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Top GOP Ohio Lawmakers And Prohibitionist Groups Push To Overturn Voter-Approved Marijuana Legalization Initiative Or Amend Key Provisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Top Republican Ohio lawmakers and prohibitionist groups are already plotting ways to water down a marijuana legalization law that voters approved at the ballot on Tuesday<\/a>, with some proposing changes to specific provisions like tax revenue allocations and others floating an outright repeal.<\/p>\n

The legalization initiative passed with about 57 percent of the vote, making Ohio the 24th state in the country to end prohibition, despite calls to reject the measure from the governor and leading lawmakers. Now that the statutory amendment has been approved, however, the message from opponents has been consistent: they plan to relitigate the issue in the GOP-controlled legislature.<\/p>\n


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Results tracker sponsored by\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis statute was written by the marijuana industry and should not be treated as a cash grab for their cash crop at the expense of a state trying to emerge from the opioid epidemic,\u201d Senate President Matt Huffman (R) said<\/a> in a statement following the vote. \u201cThe General Assembly may consider amending the statute to clarify the questionable language regarding limits for THC and tax rates as well as other parts of the statute.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan isn\u2019t surprising, as Huffman said last month that the measure would be \u201ccoming right back before this body\u201d for lawmakers to amend if voters approved it. The Senate president said in advance of Election Day that he wouldn\u2019t seek to repeal the legalization law entirely<\/a> but would instead \u201cadvocate for reviewing it and repealing things or changing things that are in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

House Speaker Jason Stephens (R) also released a statement<\/a> on Tuesday, asserting that \u201cnow is the time for the legislature to lead on how best to allocate tax revenues while responsibly regulating the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInvesting in county jail construction and funding law enforcement training across Ohio should be our top priority to make our communities safer,\u201d he said, indicating he would like to shift cannabis revenue toward police and incarceration.<\/p>\n

As passed by voters, the initiative calls for a 10 percent sales tax on cannabis sales, with resulting funds being divided up to support social equity and jobs programs, localities that allow adult-use marijuana enterprises to operate in their area, education and substance misuse programs and administrative costs of implementing the system.<\/p>\n

Any attempts to revise the measure will likely come up against resistance from the measure\u2019s supporters in the legislature, including Rep. Casey Weinstein (D), who has championed reform and sponsored bipartisan legalization legislation.<\/p>\n

He responded to the Senate president\u2019s call for changes to the law on Tuesday, writing \u201cBRING. IT. ON.\u201d<\/p>\n

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BRING. IT. ON. https:\/\/t.co\/pNSAG2RPJ4<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rep. Casey Weinstein \"🇺🇸\" (@RepWeinstein) November 8, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Once the vote was called, Weinstein told Marijuana Moment that he hopes lawmakers \u201cwill heed their call and honor the will of the vote.\u201d But so far, it\u2019s clear that leadership intends to be selective about which parts they\u2019re willing to heed.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s even implemented.<\/p>\n

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Action President Kevin Sabet said on Tuesday that despite voters passing legalization, the \u201cfight is not over.\u201d<\/p>\n

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OHIO: Unlike the last few ballot races on marijuana, tonight we didn\u2019t prevail\u2014 likely because it was on the ballot with the abortion issue. But this isn\u2019t over\u2014 statement \"⬇\"\"⬇\"\"⬇\" pic.twitter.com\/fGtgg3CNDt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kevin Sabet (@KevinSabet) November 8, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cGiven Issue 2 was statutory\u2014not constitutional\u2014lawmakers have authority to make changes to the law,\u201d he said. \u201cThey should eliminate the provisions allowing for commercial sales, advertising, and production, at a minimum. National polls show that when given the options of decriminalization and medical use, voters overwhelmingly do not favor recreational sales.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea of banning commercial sales and production\u2014central components of the legalization initiative that a majority of voters comfortably approved\u2014goes significantly further than the more incremental changes that GOP leadership has so far floated in public remarks.<\/p>\n

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OHIO LEADERS MUST ACT TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES FROM PREDATORY ADDICTION INDUSTRY pic.twitter.com\/e1lP5rU7dA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SAM (@learnaboutsam) November 8, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cNotwithstanding these changes, SAM will redouble our efforts to ensure Ohio\u2019s leaders create a strong regulatory framework that protects our young people and puts health and safety above the addiction industry\u2019s profits,\u201d Sabet said. \u201cOhio should immediately prioritize prevention education, especially in school-age children, enact strict potency caps for THC products, prohibit advertisements aimed at young people, and mandate clear warning labels for all THC products.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the national prohibitionist group hasn\u2019t explicitly called for a repeal of the law, one of its key allies on the ground is floating that move as an option.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a disappointing development but nothing\u2019s over, the venue just shifts from the campaign trail to the Statehouse,\u201d Protect Ohio Workers and Families spokesperson Scott Milburn said on Tuesday. \u201cSupport for Issue 2 fell as Ohioans learned how much it\u2019s rigged to merely benefit a handful of big commercial marijuana companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ticking time bomb crafted in secret by a Columbus law firm will now be cracked open by the legislature in the full light of day so they can defuse it in an open, public process before it blows up in Ohio\u2019s face,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a guarantee that wholesale changes await\u2014if not an outright repeal. That would only benefit Ohioans and spare us all a bad case of buyer\u2019s remorse.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Protect Ohio Workers and Families’ official statement on the Issue 2 election results. pic.twitter.com\/bYmH5etSLr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Protect Ohio Workers & Families (@ProtectOhioFW) November 8, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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For what it\u2019s worth, a number of Ohio lawmakers said in September that they doubted the legislature would seek to repeal a voter-passed legalization law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Voters were only able to decide on the issue after lawmaker 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.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, ahead of the vote, both sides of the campaign stepped up messaging and get-out-the-vote efforts as the election drew near. Last month, the yes campaign sent cease and desist letters to TV stations airing what organizers called opposition advertisements \u201cfilled with lies.\u201d<\/a> And reform advocates put out a pro-Issue 2 election ad of its own.<\/p>\n

For his part, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has said he believes \u201cit would be a real mistake for us to have recreational marijuana,\u201d adding that he visited Colorado following its move to legalize in 2012 and saw what he described as an \u201cunmitigated disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

As early voting kicked off late last month, the GOP-controlled Senate passed a resolution urging residents to reject measure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unlike the top state Republican lawmakers, one of the state\u2019s GOP representatives in Congress\u2014Rep. Dave Joyce, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said in September that he would be voting in favor of the initiative in November<\/a>. He encouraged \u201call Ohio voters to participate and make their voices heard on this important issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The congressman said in a statement to Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that, with the legalization vote, \u201cOhio voters across the political spectrum made clear that cannabis prohibition is no longer tenable nor the will of the broad electorate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government must not only respect the will of our state and its voters, but support it. I am as invigorated as ever to push and pass common sense reforms that do just that,\u201d he said. \u201cI will continue to center this work around reversing the harms to those who have been unjustly impacted by a near century long prohibition and increasing public safety\u2014which remains inextricably linked to efficient and effective regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said late last month\u00a0he voted in favor of the legalization ballot initiative<\/a>, calling it a \u201chard decision\u201d but one that was based on his belief that the reform would promote \u201csafety\u201d for consumers.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, an analysis published in August by Ohio State University researchers found the change could bring in $404 million in annual tax revenue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ohio voters rejected a 2015 measure, on a 64\u201336 vote, that would have amended the state\u2019s constitution to legalize marijuana and give control of the market to a small group of producers. Organizers for the current campaign said they\u00a0drew on lessons learned from that failure<\/a>\u00a0in crafting the current initiative.<\/p>\n

Bipartisan Ohio lawmakers\u00a0filed a separate bill to legalize marijuana in May<\/a>, offering the legislature another opportunity to take the lead on the reform.<\/p>\n

Here are the key provisions of the Ohio legalization ballot\u00a0measure<\/a> that was approved:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n