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FILE – Marijuana grows in the Mother Room of AT-CPC Ohio, Jan. 28 2019, in Akron. Ohio lawmakers are scrambling for legislation to implement the will of voters following last month’s overwhelming win on a ballot measure legalizing marijuana for recreational use. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
COLUMBUS (AP) – Ohioans woke Thursday to a land of recreational cannabis limbo. Adults can grow and possess marijuana at home but not legally buy it.
The Republican Governor said that the combination of factors relating to a citizen initiated statue approved by voters in November is “a recipe for disaster”. Mike DeWine spoke Wednesday night. He called for the passage of a compromise legislation that would set parameters for the implementation of Issue 2. The Ohio Senate passed the 11th-hour agreement on the eve before the new law went into effect, but the Ohio House – insisting there was no rush – chose to adjourn.
Ohio Senate approves changes to marijuana law. DeWine urges the bill’s passage
DeWine predicted black market sales in Ohio would flourish, making fentanyl or pesticide-laced cannabis products more accessible, and endangering Ohioans. This includes children who may be exposed to second-hand smoke during this holiday season.
One regulator joked that to grow marijuana without the ability to buy it legally must require an “immaculate conception.”
Jamie Callender, Republican state representative and sponsor of a separate House implementation bill told the House Finance Committee Wednesday that DeWine, GOP Senate President Matt Huffman, were wrong, and that there was “no deadline” for Ohio’s legal sale scheme to be implemented. He said that home grow and possession can still proceed without incident.
Callender said that he wanted to “make sure that we are thoughtful, that we have had ample time to look at it, and that we can deal with the things which don’t go into immediate effect that we can work on” and that the voters’ wishes were respected.
The Republican House Speaker Jason Stephens didn’t speak to reporters on Wednesday. But the chamber’s No. Bill Seitz, the state representative who is the third Republican in the House, defended its decision to adjourn the House without taking action on the 160-page agreement, which was attached to an existing House bill, and will return to the lower chamber the following week.
“We won’t pass such a monstrous proposal in 48 hours, sight unseen. That’s nuts,” Seitz said. He said that lawmakers need time to sort out the complexities involved in setting up Ohio’s adult use cannabis sales, taxation, and regulatory structure.
State lawmakers, in fact, Last year, I had four months off. Act. As a citizen initiated statute, Issue 2 was required to be submitted before going to statewide voting. After the GOP-controlled Legislature decided to do nothing, Issue 2 was placed on the ballot for the 7th of November and passed with 57%.
The law allows adults over 21 to purchase and possess up 2.5 ounces cannabis, and to grow up six plants per person or 12 plants per family at home. The state had nine months to create a system of legal marijuana purchases. A 10% tax would be applied, and the proceeds would be divided between administrative costs, addiction treatments, municipalities with dispensaries, and social equity and job programs supporting the cannabis sector itself.
Just days before the law went into effect, Senate Republicans proposed an extensive rewrite, angering supporters and alarming both sides in the House. The first bill would have banned home grows, reduced the possession limit to one ounce, increased the tax rate for pot purchases to 15 percent, eliminated tax incentives for social equity programs which support the marijuana industry, and directed the majority of the money into a general fund of the state government.
The Senate approved the compromise reached with DeWine on Wednesday 28-2. It reduced the number of marijuana plants per household to six. It also retained the higher tax rate of 15% for purchases and reduced the THC level in cannabis extracts from 90% as allowed under Issue 2. The deal restored the 2.5 ounce possession limit, but retained the 35% level of THC for plants. It also nixed the Ohio state government controlling most of the marijuana taxes.
The compromise bill, which garnered Democratic support, adds a provision that was not included in Issue 2, that calls for expunging of criminal records of anyone convicted for marijuana possession upto 2.5 ounces. It also adds child protections, such as requiring child safe packaging on legal marijuana products.
Steven Steinglass, emeritus dean of the Cleveland State University College of Law, and an expert in Ohio’s Constitution, said that Ohio had never made such significant amendments to an initiated law.
“Understand that this has never occurred in Ohio because the voters approved only three initiated statutes over a period of 111 years and none have been changed, repealed, or tinkered with by the General Assembly,” said he.
If legislators stray too far from the law voters approved, then the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (the campaign behind Issue 2) or another group can always seek a referendum.
“Because the proponents have some important constitutionally-authorized tools they might use, that should give the legislators an incentive to sit down with the proponents to perhaps reach a compromise over changes the legislators feel are necessary and that proponents feel are not violative of their legislative intent,” Steinglass said.
Huffman said that the compromise legislation respects voters while addressing important concerns.
The Senate president said, “I’m against (legalization), but that’s the law.” “We don’t wish for illegal sales, or the black market as you might call it, to gain a foothold.”
Louis Tobin, executive Director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said that there are many aspects of the new Ohio Law that can be immediately implemented.
Tobin said that it would be difficult to prove probable cause to prosecute anyone who carries less than 2.5 ounces, but prosecutors, law enforcement, and the police will still be on alert. “People who smoke in cars still break the law. People who carry more than 2.5 ounces of marijuana still break the law. People who engage in private sales still violate the law. People driving under the influence still violate the law.”
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