Future of marijuana legislation uncertain as both Ohio House and Senate won’t reconvene until 2024 – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

The Ohio House and Senate ended their last scheduled sessions of the year last week without passing any marijuana legislation. 

Both chambers met Wednesday, but no weed bills were brought to the floor, which raises the question: how close are the House and Senate to agreeing on the marijuana legislation?  

“That’s tough to say,” Senate President Matt Huffman told reporters last Wednesday. “The provisions that we passed are things that we worked with on the governor which we showed to the House and we really just haven’t gotten much response.” 

The Ohio Senate passed House Bill 86 by a bipartisan vote which would increase the marijuana tax rate to 15%, limit home grow to six plants per household, change how the revenue is distributed, and add automatic expungement. 

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine urged lawmakers to pass the bill so he can sign it into law, but the House hasn’t had the same sense of urgency.

“I’m disappointed that the House left without dealing with this,” DeWine told reporters Friday. “I’m not angry about it. I’m just concerned about the situation that we have.”

Marijuana is legal in Ohio, but there is currently nowhere to legally buy recreational weed. 

The current law gives the Ohio Department of Commerce the power to come up with regulations and issue licenses, but those can’t be doled out until at least nine months after Nov. 7 — meaning marijuana likely won’t be sold legally in Ohio until well into next year under,…

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