GOP Senators Introduce New Bill With Changes To Ohio's Cannabis Initiative As Retail Sales Loom

As Ohio inches closer to launching its legal recreational marijuana market, a new Republican Senate bill is hovering over the process. The bill seeks to control where Ohioans can consume cannabis and impose new rules on home cultivation. Adult-use cannabis was legalized in November 2023 with 57% of the vote.  

With just months, or even weeks, before Ohio's medical marijuana dispensaries are set to begin selling recreational cannabis, Republican State Senators Kirk Schuring and Stephen Huffman introduced a bill that would place a ban on smoking or vaping marijuana in public and would require home growers to file affidavits with the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (ODCC) promising to follow the law.

Advocates Frustrated With New GOP Attempts To Change Initiative

This is not the first time Republican lawmakers have attempted to change the initiative. Within days after Amendment 2 was approved last November, Ohio's GOP-led Senate began introducing bills to alter its content.

In the latest attempt, cannabis advocates argue that the new Republican bill contradicts Amendment 2, under which adults are permitted to grow up to six marijuana plants per person, with a maximum of 12 plants per residence.

Johnny Cannabis, CEO of OhioCannabis.com, expressed frustration.

"2.1 million people voted for a rules and regulations to legally grow our own cannabis,” he said. “We know it's not legal to sell it. Nobody's interested in selling their own. All we want to do is grow our own cannabis for our own needs and be left alone."

Ohio’s indoor smoking ban also extends to marijuana, prohibiting its use in public indoor spaces. Amendment 2 foresees abiding by the same rules for consuming marijuana in public places.

Acknowledging the need for a legal framework, Cannabis says it's common courtesy among marijuana consumers not to smoke in public. “At the end of the day, not everyone likes to smell of weed. And as a consumer, we have to be respectful of other people and groups that don't like the smell of it.”

Tyrone Russell, president of the Cleveland School of Cannabis, supports appropriate regulation but cautions against excessive restrictions.

"We have a rule for smoking and whether it's cigars or cigarettes, so I believe this should be treated as such," Russell said. "So, if we're telling people they can't smoke in public, well, people can smoke in public already designated where you can and where you can't smoke. And I think that's okay. And I think that's fair to make sure that we're applying those regulations to the cannabis industry as well."

Meanwhile, the exact start date for recreational marijuana sales remains unclear, with dual-use applications being processed from June 7 and approval deadlines set for September 7.

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Photo courtesy of Maureen Meehan