While Ohioans wait for the opportunity to legally purchase marijuana for recreational operate, Republican lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly are trying to regulate adult-use cannabis products.
State Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton, introduced Bill No. 642 on Thursday, which would require the Ohio Director of Agriculture to issue recommendations on adult-use cannabis products.
If the bill were to pass, the Director of Agriculture (currently Brian Baldridge) would conduct and issue a report to the General Assembly on the “sale and use of hemp products that could be used for intoxicating purposes.” The report would be consulted with the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
The report may include:
- A definition of adult-use cannabis products, which could include restrictions on the amount of THC allowed in adult-use cannabis products, depending on serving size.
- Where can adult-use cannabis products be sold and how are these products stored?
- Minimum age to purchase cannabis for adult operate.
- Penalties for selling adult cannabis products to minors.
- Standards and requirements for testing cannabis products intended for adult operate.
- Advertising restrictions and labeling requirements for adult-use cannabis products.
- How to enforce these recommendations, which could give oversight powers to the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Unit.
If the recommendations are adopted, they will be valid for one year.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine urged lawmakers earlier this year ban or regulate delta-8, which he called “intoxicating cannabis.”
Delta-8 is made from hemp, so it is legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, which states that hemp can be legally grown if it contains less than 0.3% THC. Hemp and marijuana are two types of cannabis plants.
Delta-8 has 0.3% THC or less, which means it is currently unregulated and there is no age requirement to purchase it, so teens and children can purchase it. The products are sold in tobacco shops and gas stations.
At the time of DeWine’s January news conference, there had been at least 257 cases of delta-8 poisoning reported in Ohio over the past three years, according to the Ohio Poison Control Center.
“I can’t do anything without action from the state legislature,” DeWine said during his January press conference. “I’m just asking the legislature to take action so we can get these products off the shelves. In the meantime, I’d ask the retail establishments that are out there… to take their responsibility to take them off the shelves. We need action from the state legislature to make this illegal.”
Ohio Senate
In the Senate, Senators Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, and Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, introduced a bill in behind schedule May that would impose restrictions on adult-use cannabis products.
Senate Bill No. 278 would prohibit the sale of adult-use cannabis products to anyone under the age of 21. It would also require stores to keep adult-use cannabis products behind the counter and check the identity of customers who want to buy the products.
Ohio lawmakers are currently on recess and are not expected to return before the November election.
Marijuana in Ohio
Even though recreational marijuana is legal in Ohio following the passage of House Bill 2, there is still no place to legally buy weed.
The Marijuana Control Division has not yet issued certificates for marijuana dispensaries that would allow them to begin selling recreational marijuana.
More than 200 facilities have qualified for a provisional license, which is a fleeting document while the provisional license holder works to meet the requirements for an operational certificate, such as conducting checks and demonstrating that employees can distinguish between the sale of medical supplies and the sale of recreational supplies.
“Upon successful completion of this process, Certificates of Operations will be issued in approximately the order in which complete applications were received,” James Crawford, a spokesman for the Cannabis Control Division, said in an email.
“Again, at this stage no certificates have been issued to allow the sale of non-medical cannabis in pharmacies.”
Of the 216 establishments that had fleeting licenses on Friday, 133 were retail outlets.
License applications must be approved or denied by September 7.
“There won’t be one specific day that sales will start,” Crawford said.We will start issuing licenses, and retailers will decide what day they will start selling, taking into account headcount, inventory, and other factors.
Four people involved in farming and six people involved in processing received certificates authorizing their operation.
“This is necessary because dispensaries cannot sell non-medical products unless the grower, processor and laboratory that handled the product have received a Non-Medical Cannabis Operations Certificate.” Crawford said in an email.
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