An Ohio House GOP lawmaker has introduced his own set of changes to cannabis law, just a week after the Senate sent over an overhaul of the state’s adult-use program along party lines.
Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) introduced House Bill 160, which addresses both existing medical and recreational programs, as well as delta-8 THC and other related products.
The latter have been unregulated by the state for years, but lawmakers have yet to agree on what to do with them—whether an outright ban, an age restriction, or something in between.
Stewart stated Thursday that they are “in many ways indistinguishable from legal marijuana,” which is why HB 160 seeks to place the products behind dispensary counters.
“Every THC product, whether it’s delta-8, diet weed, THC beverages, whatever you want to call it,” Stewart told reporters. “If it gets you high, it goes through a dispensary, period.”
In terms of already-regulated cannabis, HB 160 prohibits public smoking while allowing cannabis smoking and combustion on privately owned residential property, such as a person’s front porch.
Senate Bill 56 restricts Ohioans to private residences. It also allows homeowners to grow their own plants, with a maximum of 12 plants per household.
Both bills limit the concentration of THC products available at dispensaries, with a maximum of 35% for plants and 70% for concentrates and extracts, though the Ohio Department of Commerce has the authority to raise or lower that figure.
According to Adrienne Robbins, deputy executive director of the Ohio Cannabis Coalition, the legislature is paying more attention to the marijuana industry than it did a year ago. However, OHCANN opposes THC caps.
“We don’t think that this is necessarily a potency argument, but a purity one,” Robbins told the crowd. “Anytime you reduce the potency like that, you’re adding more fillers or products, which we don’t believe is beneficial to consumers. To ensure consumer safety, all of the products come with dosage recommendations.
HB 160, like the latest version of SB 56, keeps the excise tax at 10%.
“Our tax policy should incentivize Ohioans to buy affordable, regulated, state-grown marijuana rather than pushing them to the black market, or even worse yet, to Michigan,” Stewart told the crowd.
However, it restructures the Host Community Cannabis Fund, which was established for municipalities that have marijuana dispensaries.
The fund received 36% of tax revenue from the state’s relatively new recreational cannabis program. This would reduce it to 20% and eventually eliminate it after five years.
It’s unclear which changes, if any, will make it to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk. Lawmakers have debated changes since cannabis became legal for Ohioans 21 and older in December 2023, with the Senate largely leading the way.
“The Senate is relatively familiar with this debate and our perspectives on it. “They (the House) will be bringing this to the floor, presumably for the first time, and we’ll have to see what they want to do,” Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said Wednesday.
HB 160 is awaiting committee assignment.
