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A bill to ban intoxicating hemp products and make it illegal to bring legally purchased marijuana back to Ohio from another state is now heading to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk for his signature after being passed by Ohio Senate Republicans.
The Ohio Senate voted along party lines 22-7 to pass Ohio Senate Bill 56 Tuesday. TheOhio House passed the bill at the end of a marathon session last month. If DeWine signs the bill into law before the new year, it could take effect as soon as March.
“(Intoxicating hemp products are) going to be off the shelves immediately upon the effectiveness of this bill,” Ohio Senate Majority Leader Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, said.
Ohio’s bill complies with recent federal changes by banning intoxicating hemp products from being sold outside of a licensed marijuana dispensary.
“As far as intoxicating hemp goes, when all is said and done, this bill definitely benefits big marijuana businesses,” Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood, said. “And at the same time, leaves a lot of small business owners in the wake.”
DeWine has been asking lawmakers to do something about intoxicating hemp products for nearly two years.
The bill also allows five milligram THC beverages to be manufactured, distributed, and sold until Dec. 31, 2026.
“I’m so worried that the fastest growing industry in the beverage market, being hemp beverages, are going to get hurt,” Ohio state Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, said.
On the marijuana side, the bill would reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, cap THC levels in adult-use flower to 35%, and prohibit smoking in most public places.
Part of the probable cause portions were removed from the bill, but some of it still remains.
The bill prohibits possessing marijuana in anything outside of its original packaging and criminalizes bringing legal marijuana from another state back to Ohio.
“It is a crime, but it’s not something that’s going to be heavily penalized,” McColley said. “It’s really just a reflection of the fact that Michigan has different testing standards.”
DeMora supports getting intoxicating hemp products off the streets, but has issues with the marijuana regulations.
“It re-criminalized dozens of different provisions dealing with marijuana,” DeMora said.
“We can’t forget about the fact that we’re going to have millions of dollars of taxpayer money be wasted on Ohio troopers sitting on the border or every road coming from the state up north to see people who are driving into Ohio with marijuana products.”
It also requires drivers to store marijuana in the trunk of their car while driving.
Ohio S.B. 56 would give 36% of adult-use marijuana sale revenue to municipalities and townships that have recreational marijuana dispensaries.
“That money will be available to locals as quickly as tax can get it out as soon as the governor signs,” Ohio state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, said.
The bill also maintains the 10% tax rate on recreational marijuana and keeps home grow the same at six plants per adult and 12 per residence. It also places a cap on 400 marijuana dispensaries in the state.
Ohioans passed a citizen-initiated law to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 with 57% of the vote. Sales started in August 2024 and exceeded $702.5 million in the first year.
Ohio lawmakers can change the law since it passed as a citizen initiative not a constitutional amendment, something they have been trying to do since late 2023.
“This bill leaves the crux of Issue Two and marijuana access intact while providing for several important public safety concerns and also regulations that protect Ohio children,” Huffman said.
Ohio Democratic lawmakers argue this bill goes against the will of Ohio voters.
“What my caucus believes is that at the at the core of this is you have a group of legislators in the majority that are out of touch with everyday Ohioans, even when it comes to legalizing marijuana, and they’ve tried to do everything they can to rescind the vote of the people,” Antonio said.
McColley disagrees.
“I think that’s a little bit of exaggeration and hyperbole,” he said.
If signed into law, the bill could be ripe for a legal challenge, Antonio said.
“I’m going to leave that up to the folks who sit at the table and pour over the law books to figure that out, but I would not be surprised,” she said.
The bill has gone through many revisions.
Ohio state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, originally introduced the bill and the Senate passed it in February, but the House made major changes, most notably by adding intoxicating hemp regulations.
The Ohio House passed Ohio S.B. 56 in October with a bipartisan vote and the Ohio Senate voted unanimously one week later not to concur with changes made to the bill, sending it to conference committee.
After the bill was sent to conference committee at the end of October, changes were made to hemp at the federal level.
Congress recently voted to ban products that contain 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container earlier this month when they voted to reopen the government.
Previously, the 2018 Farm Bill said hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3% THC.
There is a one-year implementation delay for the federal hemp ban, but states can create their own regulatory framework before then.
Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.
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Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal
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