{"id":81392,"date":"2025-05-28T10:33:54","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T18:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/05\/28\/ohio-house-committee-scales-back-changes-to-voter-approved-marijuana-law-in-senate-passed-bill\/"},"modified":"2025-05-28T19:47:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T03:47:16","slug":"ohio-house-committee-scales-back-changes-to-voter-approved-marijuana-law-in-senate-passed-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/05\/28\/ohio-house-committee-scales-back-changes-to-voter-approved-marijuana-law-in-senate-passed-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio House Committee Scales Back Changes To Voter-Approved Marijuana Law In Senate-Passed Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

An Ohio House committee has adopted a number of major changes to a Senate bill that would make sweeping adjustments to the state\u2019s adult-use marijuana legalization law. Advocates say the amended bill is an improvement but still undercuts priorities included in Issue 2, passed by voters in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The action by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday comes as state lawmakers weigh a handful of separate proposals that would revise the voter-approved system<\/a>. The panel\u2019s move, lawmakers said, is aimed at working toward a single piece of consensus legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we\u2019re still in committee,\u201d Rep. Brian Stewart (R) said at the hearing, \u201cand we understand there may be other amendments sought, but I think this is getting us to a single vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The newly amended bill, SB 56, will remain before the House Judiciary Committee as members continue to hammer out issues around criminal penalties, tax revenue allocation, allowable products and other issues addressed in the legislation.<\/p>\n

Changes approved at Wednesday\u2019s hearing roll back some of the strict limits in SB 56 as passed by the Senate in February<\/a>, taking language from separate cannabis measures in the House and Senate, Stewart told colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is essentially taking House Bill 160 and putting that into Senate Bill 56,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve also largely taken Senate Bill 86 and put that into Senate Bill 56 as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drug reform advocates have criticized both SB 56 and its House counterpart, HB 160, as restrictive measures that would undermine the will of voters<\/a> who passed the state\u2019s legalization law in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SB 86, meanwhile, is a separate bill that would set regulations on intoxicating hemp products<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stewart said Wednesday\u2019s committee changes were meant to reflect feedback from interested parties and public comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe this is a step in the direction of listening to a lot of the committee testimony that we\u2019ve heard [and] a lot of the interested party meetings that we\u2019ve had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The new changes, as explained by Stewart, would remove the bill\u2019s earlier criminal penalty for sharing marijuana or intoxicating hemp products among adults, provided that the sharing takes place on private property.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re able to use on a property,\u201d the lawmaker explained, \u201cyou would be able to share with other folks as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certain outdoor concert venues would also be exempt from laws against open consumption provided they have separate smoking and vaping areas.<\/p>\n

The amendment also removed a provision that would have created a mandatory minimum sentence for someone caught consuming marijuana in the passenger seat of a vehicle.<\/p>\n

Notably, THC-infused beverages containing up to five milligrams of THC could be carried in stores statewide rather than just in dispensaries. A $3.50 per gallon tax would be levied on THC beverages.<\/p>\n

A 10 percent tax on marijuana products in the bill would also apply to intoxicating hemp products.<\/p>\n

While especially high-potency marijuana products would still be forbidden under the amended bill, regulators at the Division of Marijuana Control could by rule increase the allowable potency above the initial 70-percent THC cap.<\/p>\n

Licensed dispensaries would also be able to\u00a0sell and transfer marijuana to other license holders.<\/p>\n

Other changes would increase the amount of tax revenue going to municipalities that host cannabis businesses, upping it to 25 percent of state cannabis revenue for a period of seven years.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a higher amount than was contemplated in any other proposed legislation, Stewart emphasized.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Senate\u2019s version of the bill was zero percent. The governor\u2019s introduced version of the bill was zero percent,\u201d he said, adding that HB 160 itself initially set a 20-percent allocation for five years. \u201cWe have increased that to 25 percent over seven years.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, a survey of 38 municipalities by the Ohio State University\u2019s (OSU) Moritz College of Law found that local leaders were \u201cunequivocally opposed\u201d to earlier proposals that would have stripped the planned funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other changes in the amendment increase the allowable number of marijuana retailers statewide to 400 and revise the required distance between stores from half a mile to one mile.<\/p>\n

Stewart said he hoped the Senate would either concur with the changes or that lawmakers could \u201cmaybe have a short conference committee\u201d to hammer out any remaining details.<\/p>\n

Panel member Rep. Jamie Callender (R), a supporter of cannabis reform who\u2019d previously pushed back on SB 56<\/a> as too restrictive, said he welcomed the committee amendment but said he hoped to see further changes made.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to object to it,\u201d Callender said. \u201cI\u2019m going to ask that we accept that today with the very clear understanding that there will be some amendments drafted and considered [at] the next meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA number of the things that Rep. Stewart outlined are things that we\u2019ve discussed over the last few weeks, and I\u2019m greatly heartened to see that they were were seriously considered,\u201d he continued, though he also pointed out that he and others have had little time to review Stewart\u2019s proposed changes prior to discussing it at the hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had an hour and eight minutes to review 400 pages,\u201d Callender said. \u201cIt looks like a lot of those issues were addressed in this, but that\u2019s a concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reached after the hearing, Karen O\u2019Keefe, state policies director for the advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment that while she was still reviewing the revised bill, it appeared only \u201cless terrible than earlier iterations,\u201d adding that \u201cit continues to erode cannabis freedoms and Issue 2\u2019s commitment to restorative justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCannabis purchased outside of Ohio would be recriminalized,\u201d she pointed out. \u201cCannabis consumers could share cannabis, but only cannabis bought from Ohio stores\u2014not homegrown cannabis\u2014and only if they did so at their own primary residence.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Keefe further noted that the amended measure \u201ccontinues to eliminate the social equity and jobs program, and all funding for restorative justice, including expungement, legal aid, youth development, and other programs in disproportionately impacted communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

During public testimony before the committee earlier this month<\/a>, members heard comments from advocacy groups, local governments, businesses and individuals who spoke out against the proposal.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile in Ohio, adults will soon be able to buy more than double the amount of marijuana<\/a> that they are currently allowed to purchase per day, with state officials determining that the market can sustainably supply both medical cannabis patients and adult consumers.<\/p>\n

In a notice released last week, the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) said that its priority \u201ccontinues to be ensuring medical marijuana patients have adequate supply and maintain their medical marijuana card, and the Division knows that licensees share that priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince non-medical cannabis sales began in August 2024, the market has demonstrated the ability to support both medical marijuana patients and non-medical consumers alike,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, DCC said that, effective June 4, adults will be able to buy up to 2.5 ounces of flower cannabis per day, a significant increase compared to the current daily transaction limit of one ounce. This will make it so consumers could buy marijuana in an amount that matches the 2.5 ounce possession limit under state statute.<\/p>\n

A budget measure from Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is also a potential vehicle for changes to the state\u2019s marijuana law. As proposed, it would remove local tax allocations of medical marijuana revenue and\u00a0double the state cannabis tax rate to 20 percent<\/a>\u2014though legislative leaders have said they will be removing the tax increases.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, DeWine in March announced his desire to\u00a0reallocate marijuana tax revenue to support police training, local jails and behavioral health services<\/a>. He said funding police training was a top priority, even if that wasn\u2019t included in what voters passed in 2023.<\/p>\n

Ohio\u2019s Senate president has also pushed back against criticism of the Senate bill,\u00a0claiming the legislation does not disrespect the will of the electorate<\/a>\u00a0and would have little impact on products available in stores.<\/p>\n

Separately in the legislature this month, Sens. Steve Huffman (R) and Shane Wilkin (R) introduced\u00a0legislation that would impose a 15 percent tax on intoxicating hemp products and limit their sales to adult-use dispensaries<\/a>\u2014not convenience stores, smoke shops or gas stations<\/p>\n

DeWine has repeatedly asked\u00a0lawmakers to regulate or ban intoxicating hemp products such as delta-8 THC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

London Mayor Backs Marijuana Decriminalization After A Commission He Created Recommends Reform<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Ohio House Committee Scales Back Changes To Voter-Approved Marijuana Law In Senate-Passed Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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An Ohio House committee has adopted a number of major changes to a Senate bill that would make sweeping adjustments to the state\u2019s adult-use marijuana legalization law. Advocates say the amended bill is an improvement but still undercuts priorities included in Issue 2, passed by voters in 2023. The actionContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81392"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81392"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81393,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81392\/revisions\/81393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}