GOP Lawmakers Introduce First Bill To Alter Ohio's Legal Marijuana Law, One Week Before It Takes Effect

As promised, Ohio’s Republican-dominated legislature has begun chipping away at the voter-approved initiative, known as Issue 2, that legalized adult-use cannabis. 

The Ohio General Assembly introduced House Bill 341 on Tuesday, the first so far that would change Issue 2, which 57% of Ohio voters passed on November 7. One of the most controversial changes in the effort to alter the initiative, which is being spearheaded by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and state Senate president Matt Huffman (R), involves how to distribute the expected hundreds of millions of cannabis tax revenue.

House Bill 341, sponsored by state Rep. Gary Click (R), seeks to redirect tax money toward law agencies rather than the agreed-upon social equity programs earmarked to provide financial support for individuals disproportionately affected by past marijuana-related enforcement as well as for community development. Click's bill would also allow individual cities to locally ban the use and home cultivation of cannabis in their jurisdictions, both of which were prohibited in Issue 2.

Click reiterated Huffman’s comments from last week when he implied that Ohioans had not understood that the social equity elements in the new legalization law would prioritize people who had been affected by non-violent cannabis-related enforcement.

“We know with more drug use, there’s going to be more need for policing around that,” Click said, according to Cleveland.com. “And so, we want to create some funds to train law enforcement on how to deal with that, how to respond to those situations.”

Outdated And Disproven Theory

Click echoed the common prohibitionist and scientifically debunked gateway drug theory, as part of his rationale for putting more money into law enforcement and prisons.

“This a gateway drug. I know people who started on that. I know people who have been very adversely affected by it personally and in my family,” he said. “So, I think we need to do some education on prevention. Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it safe or beneficial.”

Because Ohio’s Issue 2 is a statute, the legislature can amend and repeal parts of it. 

As it stands under Issue 2, adult-use cannabis will be taxed at 10%, which Click’s bill does not change. It is thought that cannabis taxes could generate $200 million in revenue in the first full year of sales and $400 million by the fourth year. 

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