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Tag: {keyword:ohio

  • Second warning: Ohio doubles down on prohibition against marijuana on bar, restaurant patios – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Second warning: Ohio doubles down on prohibition against marijuana on bar, restaurant patios – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    COLUMBUS, Ohio – As the weather turns warm and bar and restaurant outdoor patios open, state alcohol and law enforcement agencies are again warning liquor permit holders that they cannot host any marijuana events.

    This is the second such warning in recent months. The first came in December, shortly after voters legalized recreational marijuana in Ohio. It pointed to a section of state administrative rule that says marijuana is still considered a controlled substance by the federal government, regardless of Ohio law, and liquor permit holders cannot knowingly or willfully allow the use of controlled substances on their premises.

    READ MORE: Buzz kill: Ohio regulators snuff out bar, restaurant plans to host events for marijuana enthusiasts

    There have been no complaints or questions recently from permit holders to the state about the rule, said Brandon Klein, a spokesman for the Ohio Division of Liquor Control. Nor have state officials found anyone in violation of the rule, he said.

    The reminder comes as “as patio season gets in full swing,” according to a statement from the Division of Liquor Control and the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Ohio Investigative Unit, a group of officers who visit bars and restaurants to ensure liquor laws are being followed

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  • General Assembly expected to go home for the holidays, leaving recreational marijuana law untouched – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    General Assembly expected to go home for the holidays, leaving recreational marijuana law untouched – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    COLUMBUS, Ohio – The legislature appears poised to finish for the year without having made promised changes to the voter-approved recreational marijuana initiated statute.

    The Ohio House concluded its last scheduled session of 2023 without voting on any changes to the law voters approved in November, despite pressure from the Ohio Senate, which last week passed a bill backed by Gov. Mike DeWine that would tweak the law, including making recreational sales available immediately at medical dispensaries.

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  • Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine: Proposed changes to Ohio’s new marijuana legalization law won’t contain ‘surprises’ – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine: Proposed changes to Ohio’s new marijuana legalization law won’t contain ‘surprises’ – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    COLUMBUS, Ohio—Gov. Mike DeWine said that he and legislative leaders met on Monday to discuss what changes to make to Issue 2, a recreational marijuana legalization law passed by voters last week.

    DeWine, speaking with reporters at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, declined to say exactly what proposed changes he discussed with Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens and Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman during a breakfast meeting. But he indicated that they didn’t bring up any proposals that they previously didn’t air in public after Issue 2′s passage.

    “I don’t think there’s any surprises out there,” said DeWine, a Republican who last week said he wants to enact marijuana restrictions intended to prevent accidental ingestion, public use, driving while intoxicated and advertising. He also said he wants lawmakers to lift existing criminal penalties for marijuana possession to avoid public confusion.

    Huffman, a Lima Republican, has expressed interest in raising the 10% sales tax on marijuana created by Issue 2, as well as lowering the maximum amount of THC that marijuana products can contain. Stephens, a Lawrence County Republican, has suggested lawmakers would divert some marijuana tax money toward county jail construction and law-enforcement training.

    “I don’t think any of the things that I have suggested that we do really flies in the face of the spirit of what people were voting for,” DeWine said Monday. “I truly believe that most people went in (to…

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  • Plot to undermine the will of voters on marijuana and abortion won’t end well for Ohio Republicans: Leslie Kouba – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Plot to undermine the will of voters on marijuana and abortion won’t end well for Ohio Republicans: Leslie Kouba – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    CLEVELAND, Ohio – For those of us who believe the government should not be able to force pregnancy upon people, tension knots are slowly untangling, and the win is sinking in.

    Issue 1, the constitutional amendment guaranteeing reproductive rights, passed by a significant statewide margin, making the majority a definitive voice.

    Issue 2, the initiated statute to legalize recreational marijuana, had even wider support, showing both Republicans and Democrats believe in enjoying life with a little sunshine in their pockets. Cool.

    So why are state-level Republicans already planning how to dilute the majority decisions that we, the people, just made?

    Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens and Senate President Matt Huffman made statements after the two issues were called. They conveyed that they and their Republican peers, who make up the current majority in the Ohio legislature, will find ways to undermine what Ohio voters decided on both issues.

    Wait. What?

    And here I believed ballots gave voters the last word on a topic. You know, majority rule and all. Silly me. But seriously, who are these people, and are they bonkers?

    Cleveland.com reporter Zachary Smith’s analysis showed how each Ohio county voted for Issue 1 and Issue 2. The two maps are almost identical and strongly mimic the outcome map of the special election in August.

    The four largest counties, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton and Summit, where a combined 70.4% of voters supported Issue 1, led the state in getting it passed….

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  • Why marijuana blood tests fall short of the alcohol standard in determining intoxication – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Why marijuana blood tests fall short of the alcohol standard in determining intoxication – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    CLEVELAND, Ohio — When it comes to enforcing drunken driving laws, police have a battery of tools at their disposal. Field sobriety tests, along with breath, blood, and urine tests for blood alcohol concentrations are well established indicators of a driver’s degree of intoxication.

    However, in the case of marijuana, the drug’s unique metabolism makes the question of intoxication – on the road or in the workplace – more complicated.

    That’s because tests for drug levels in the blood only tell us whether someone used marijuana in the last several days or even weeks, not whether they are under the influence at the time.

    Earlier marijuana use still causes positive blood tests because the psychoactive component of cannabis – tetrahydrocannabinol or THC – sticks around the body in fat cells and is released back into circulation long after the intoxicating effects on the brain have gone away.

    The limitations of drug testing have come up as Ohioans vote on a Nov. 7 ballot proposal – Issue 2 – that would legalize recreational marijuana use in Ohio.

    Here’s what we know.

    What a drug test for cannabis does and doesn’t measure

    Tests for cannabis don’t actually measure THC, the component of cannabis responsible for the feeling of being “high.” Shortly after THC reaches the bloodstream it is rapidly taken up in the fat cells of the brain and body, and little remains in circulation to measure.

    Instead, as a proxy for THC, a urine test for cannabis measures a product of its…

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