{"id":81864,"date":"2025-06-25T05:56:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T13:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/06\/25\/ohio-lawmakers-cancel-another-hearing-on-bill-to-alter-voter-approved-marijuana-legalization-law-amid-gop-disagreements\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T19:47:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T03:47:41","slug":"ohio-lawmakers-cancel-another-hearing-on-bill-to-alter-voter-approved-marijuana-legalization-law-amid-gop-disagreements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/06\/25\/ohio-lawmakers-cancel-another-hearing-on-bill-to-alter-voter-approved-marijuana-legalization-law-amid-gop-disagreements\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Lawmakers Cancel Another Hearing On Bill To Alter Voter-Approved Marijuana Legalization Law Amid GOP Disagreements"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to push pause. We\u2019re going to take the summer and come back and potentially take another crack at it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ohio lawmakers will likely go on summer break without making any changes to the state\u2019s marijuana law<\/a>, a Republican state representative said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

For the\u00a0second week\u00a0in a row,\u00a0Ohio Senate Bill 56\u00a0was up for a possible vote out of the Ohio House Judiciary Committee, but both times the vote did not take place.<\/p>\n

Once the bill is voted out of committee, it can be brought to the House floor for a vote. The\u00a0Senate passed the bill\u00a0in February.<\/p>\n

Last week, the bill was removed from the committee agenda and this week the committee meeting\u2014which only had S.B. 56 on the agenda\u2014was canceled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to push pause,\u201d\u00a0state Rep. Brian Stewart,\u00a0R-Ashville, said when asked about the\u00a0marijuana bill. \u201cWe\u2019re going to take the summer and come back and potentially take another crack at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said the Senate raised more than a dozen issues related to S.B. 56 last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just told my caucus, \u2018We\u2019re not going to just say, OK, because we\u2019re so anxious to pass the marijuana bill, which I\u2019d like to get it done, but we\u2019re not going to give up House priorities to do that,\u2019\u201d he said last week.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers are currently working on the state\u2019s two-year operating budget, which Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) must sign before July 1. The lawmakers will go on summer break after the budget is finished.<\/p>\n

S.B. 56 would reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90 percent down to a maximum of 70 percent, limit the number of active dispensaries to 400 and prohibit smoking in most public places.<\/p>\n

It would keep Ohio\u2019s home grow the same at a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence. State Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, introduced the bill in January and the bill originally would have limited Ohio\u2019s home grow from 12 plants down to six.<\/p>\n

Ohioans passed a citizen-initiated law to\u00a0legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 with 57 percent of the vote, and sales started in August 2024. Ohio lawmakers can change the law since it passed as a citizen initiative not a constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of Ohio spoke very clearly on this issue,\u201d said Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati. \u201cThey knew what they were voting on, and they voted to pass adult-use cannabis recreationally here in the state of Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Intoxicating hemp products<\/h4>\n

The House has made significant changes to S.B. 56, most notably adding regulations to intoxicating hemp products.<\/p>\n

As the bill currently stands, only a licensed marijuana dispensary would be able to sell intoxicating hemp products<\/a> that have been tested and complied with packaging, labeling and advertising requirements.<\/p>\n

The Ohio Department of Commerce would regulate intoxicating hemp products and drinkable cannabinoid products. Grocery stores, carryout stores, bars, and restaurants would continue to be able to sell drinkable cannabinoid products.<\/p>\n

Isaacsohn agrees there should be regulations around intoxicating hemp products, but wants it to happen through a \u201cclean bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is so tied up in trying to overturn the will of the voters,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we had a clean bill to fairly regulate intoxicating hemp, we could have voted on it months ago, years ago\u2026 There are so many common sense things that we agree on, and when the majority brings forward a clean bill, we would be happy to vote for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2018 Farm Bill says hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3 percent THC.<\/p>\n

State Rep.\u00a0D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, was planning on introducing amendments to the bill\u2019s<\/a> hemp provisions during Tuesday\u2019s committee meeting, but that didn\u2019t happen since the meeting was canceled.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0American Republic Policy worked with\u00a0Swearingen on the amendments which\u00a0would have allowed licensed hemp companies in Ohio to continue to operate their retail stores and create a unified regulatory framework for hemp and marijuana products, said Dakota Sawyer of American Republic Policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same regulations that would apply to marijuana under the Ohio administration code would apply to hemp products as well,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are ensuring that we do not have state-sanctioned monopolies in the state of Ohio, that federally legal hemp products can be accessed through independent businesses, and that they would not be forced to go into dispensaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sawyer said forcing hemp products into only dispensaries would eliminate market competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to ensure that there are options out for people, to ensure that they are able to purchase what they love, what they would want\u2026and to ensure that we do not have state-sanctioned monopolies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, said 3,000 hemp businesses would close if S.B. 56 passes as it currently stands\u2014with hemp products only being sold in dispensaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to reward the good actors,\u201d\u00a0 she said. \u201cWe need to ID check our hemp products when it is consumable. We also need to allow these businesses to stay open.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wesley Bryant, company owner of 420 Craft Beverages in\u00a0Cleveland, said he already does many of the things that are outlined in the proposed amendment.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery square inch of my facility is fully covered by cameras,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a full track and traceability of everything that comes into my facility. We even go so far as to double check IDs. And my doors stay locked throughout the day. You have to be buzzed in order to enter the facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeWine and various lawmakers have expressed safety concerns for children when it comes to hemp products, but Sawyer said the average age of an Ohio hemp customer is 40 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not geared towards children,\u201d Sawyer said. \u201cWhat some legislators have done is created this mystical boogeyman that says that all these hemp people are doing all these crazy things that are attracting minors. And essentially we\u2019re saying, let\u2019s punish the bad actors that are doing that, but let\u2019s not punish the good guys for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But\u00a0Adrienne Robbin, deputy executive director of Ohio Cannabis Coalition (OHCANN), said\u00a0Ohio children are being put at risk by intoxicating hemp products.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sad day for all Ohioans that we\u2019re going to continue to see these illicit products be sold in our state over the summer,\u201d she said. \u201cThese products are being marketed to [children] specifically,\u201d she said. \u201cI think the hemp industry is really good at pulling a few good actors out and highlighting them, but the reality is, the majority of these products are illicit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sawyer said he would prefer to see the legislation as two separate bills\u2014one with marijuana regulations and a separate one with hemp regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarijuana and hemp are totally separate in terms of the industry and products,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Ohio Capital Journal.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Marijuana Industry Workers Are The Happiest In Any Job Sector In The U.S., Survey Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Ohio Lawmakers Cancel Another Hearing On Bill To Alter Voter-Approved Marijuana Legalization Law Amid GOP Disagreements<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n
\nRead More: Ohio Lawmakers Cancel Another Hearing On Bill To Alter Voter-Approved Marijuana Legalization Law Amid GOP Disagreements<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are going to push pause. We\u2019re going to take the summer and come back and potentially take another crack at it.\u201d By Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal Ohio lawmakers will likely go on summer break without making any changes to the state\u2019s marijuana law, a Republican state representative saidContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81864"}],"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\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81865,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81864\/revisions\/81865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}