Hemp, marijuana addressed in bill

By Megan Henry/Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio lawmakers passed a bill early Thursday morning that would ban intoxicating hemp products and make changes to the state’s marijuana laws. 

The Ohio House voted 52-34 to pass Ohio Senate Bill 56, sending it to the Senate.

Ohio Republicans Tim Barhorst, Thaddeus Claggett, Levi Dean, Jennifer Gross, Brian Lorenz, Jason Stephens, D.J. Swearingen, and Michelle Teska joined Ohio Democrats in voting against the bill around 1 a.m. Thursday morning.

The House vote took place after the bill was originally scheduled to go to conference committee Wednesday morning, but the meeting did not happen until just before midnight Wednesday.

Ohio state Senator Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, offered about a dozen amendments during the conference committee, but none of them were adopted.

The Ohio Senate has session scheduled for December 9 and Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said he is confident the Senate will pass the bill. 

The Republican lawmakers on the conference committee said a lot of accommodations had to be made. 

“We were so close that things came together and we did not want to walk away being so close with where we’re at,” said Ohio state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City. “I think we came to a good compromise.” 

Huffman introduced the bill in January and the Senate originally passed the bill in February, but the House made major changes, most notably by adding intoxicating hemp regulations.

The Ohio House passed Ohio S.B. 56 in October with a bipartisan vote and the Ohio Senate voted unanimously one week later not to concur with changes made to the bill, sending it to conference committee. After the bill was sent to conference committee at the end of October, changes were made to hemp at the federal level.

Congress recently voted to ban products that contain 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container earlier this month when they voted to reopen the government.

Previously, the 2018 Farm Bill said hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3 percent THC.

There is a one-year implementation delay for the federal hemp ban, but states can create their own regulatory framework before then. 

“On the hemp side, what the the federal government did certainly influenced what we needed to do,” Huffman said.

Ohio’s bill complies with recent federal changes by banning intoxicating hemp products from being sold outside of a licensed marijuana dispensary.  

“When it comes to intoxicating hemp products, we essentially cut to the chase,” said Ohio Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville). “We had already whittled down most retailers where those could be sold. That is going to kick in. They’re going to have the 90 days of runway that’s in the bill. After that, all those products are either going to be sold in a marijuana dispensary or they won’t be allowed to be sold.”

If the Ohio Senate passes Ohio S.B. 56 in December and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signs the bill into law before the new year, Ohio’s intoxicating hemp could take effect as soon as March.

Ohio S.B. 56 allows five milligram THC beverages to be manufactured, distributed and sold until Dec. 31, 2026. 

“There’s aspirational language in here that the legislative leaders have agreed on that says, if the federal government takes action and makes (THC beverages) legal again, that it’s our intent that we would come back and have legislation to create a structure and have legal THC beverages again,” Stewart said. 

On October 8, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a 90-day executive order that bans the sale of intoxicating hemp products that started on October 14, but a Franklin County Court of Common judge has placed a temporary restraining order on DeWine’s ban until December 2.  

On the marijuana side, the bill would reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90 percent down to a maximum of 70 percent, cap THC levels in adult-use flower to 35 percent, and prohibit smoking in most public places. 

Part of the probable cause portions were removed from the bill, but some of it still remains. 

“More of the probable cause (is) if you’re driving down the road and you’re across the yellow line, if you appear to be intoxicated in other ways, that is the probable cause,” Huffman said.

Ohio S.B. 56 would give 36 percent of adult-use marijuana sale revenue to municipalities and townships that have recreational marijuana dispensaries.

“We’re glad to see this legislation release the long-promised Host Community Fund dollars,” Ohio Cannabis Coalition Executive Director David Bowling said in a statement. “This cannabis tax revenue is an important way our licensed operators give back to the communities where they live and work.”

The bill also maintains the 10 percent tax rate on recreational marijuana and keeps home grow the same at six plants per adult and 12 per residence.

Ohioans passed a citizen-initiated law to legalize 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, something they have been trying to do since late 2023. 

“(Ohio S.B. 56) fundamentally undermines the will of the voter and what they said that they wanted,” said State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake). “They told us at the ballot box. They said we need to stop punishing adults for responsible use.” 

Ohio recreational marijuana sales topped $702.5 million in the first year. 

“People wanted the ability to smoke it where they wanted to smoke it, the ability to have their neighbors exchange marijuana and see whose brand was better,” DeMora said. “This bill does none of that stuff.” 

Ohio Republicans disagree.

“I don’t think it goes against the will of voters,” Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman said. “You can say we got 57 percent of the vote, but is it the will of all the people that you’re allowed to smoke marijuana cigarettes while you’re walking into the Cincinnati Reds baseball game? I don’t think so.”