This story was republished with permission from Crain’s Cleveland Business and written by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws hosted a webinar last week about two bills that are trying to change Ohio’s marijuana laws.
“Whether one believes that cannabis ought to be legal or not is almost a secondary issue,” said NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano. “The primary issue ought to be that elections have consequences, and the results of elections should matter.”
“It’s not as if this pushback is coming because there have been negative or adverse consequences of Issue Two being implemented,” Armentano said. “The law is working just fine, and Ohioans are happy with it. Lawmakers are trying to meddle with it and act as if there are issues with the law, when in fact, we’re seeing the laws playing out the way voters intended.”
These bills would be dangerous for cannabis users in Ohio, said Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulation at Drug Policy Alliance.
“There are so many ways that if you are a cannabis consumer in Ohio, with either of these bills passed, you should consider that the law will consider you a criminal,” she said.
S.B. 56 would cut the number of Ohio’s home grow plants in half from 12 plants down to six, reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, and require marijuana can only be used in a private residence.
THC potency caps are a solution in search of a problem, Armentano said.
“Voters, by and large, don’t like potency caps for cannabis,” he said. “If we simply remove these products from the market, we’re not going to get rid of the demand, but what we’re going to do is drive the production of these products to the unregulated market.”
S.B. 56 does allow someone to apply to the sentencing court to have their record expunged, but they would have to pay a $50 filing fee. The bill would require marijuana to only be transported in the trunk of a car when traveling and would limit the number of active dispensaries to 350.
The Ohio Senate passed S.B. 56 last month, which would ban Ohioans from using marijuana that is not either from a licensed Ohio dispensary or cultivated at a consumer’s home — meaning it would be illegal for Ohioans to drive up to Michigan to buy marijuana and bring it back over state lines. The bill has yet to have a hearing in the House.
“If you were to pass a joint or share your home grown cannabis, or share your cannabis with your spouse or your roommate, you would be a criminal again,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at Marijuana Policy Project.
House Bill 160 would keep home grow and tax levels the same, but reduce THC levels and redirect most of the tax revenue to the state’s general fund.
The current tax revenue is divided up in several ways — 36% to the cannabis social equity and jobs fund, 36% to the host community cannabis fund, 25% to the substance abuse and addiction fund and 3% to the Division of Cannabis Control and Tax Commissioner Fund.
“My concern is we wouldn’t be dedicating those monies where voters decided that the money should go,” Packer said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget proposal would increase the tax on marijuana from 10% to 20%. The Ohio House is currently working on the budget, which is due July 1.
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