A Republican Ohio lawmaker has introduced a rival bill to Senate-passed legislation that seeks to amend the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law. And the proposed changes in the House measure are less sweeping—for example, maintaining the current allowable amount of cannabis plans that can be grown at home by adults.
Rep. Brian Stewart (R), chair of the House Finance Committee, is sponsoring the new 120-page cannabis bill.
Unlike the Senate proposal from Sen. Steve Huffman (R) that moved through the full chamber late last month, Stewart’s legislation would not alter a provision of the current law allowing adults 21 and older to grow up to 12 plants for personal use by cutting that amount in half.
However, it would reduce the maximum THC limit for cannabis extracts from 90 percent to 70 percent, as News 5 Cleveland first reported.
The Senate bill would lower the maximum household plant limit for home cultivation from 12 to six, but it similarly calls for the same reduced THC cap. Both bills would also make it so only 350 dispensaries could be licensed in the state.
“While there will obviously continue to be good faith debate and disagreement over the pros and cons of legalization, a majority of our constituents have made it clear to us that they support legal adult-use marijuana that is taxed at a reasonable rate, that is regulated by the state to ensure products are as safe as possible and that can, if desired, be grown at home,” Stewart said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Another key component of the House bill tackles intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products—something the governor has repeatedly called on lawmakers to address. Hemp products containing more than 0.3 percent THC could only be sold at licensed marijuana dispensaries, rather than at smoke shops and gas stations, for example.
Additionally, the House measure would not impose restrictions on the allowable THC milligrams per package, whereas the Senate’s version would make it so marijuana products could not exceed 100 milligrams per package and 10 milligrams per individual serving.
The text of the House proposal is not yet available, but local reporting indicates it will not contain controversial provisions that strictly limit where adults can consume cannabis. The Senate’s version has come under criticism from advocates, who argue it would effectively prevent people from smoking or vaping marijuana outside of private residences, for example by criminalizing consumption in one’s own back yard.
While the Senate bill as originally introduced would have increased the tax on marijuana from 10 percent to 15 percent and reallocated revenue, those components were removed in committee. The House legislation would keep the 10 percent tax rate, but it would distribute 20 percent of revenue to localities that allow marijuana businesses within their borders. That allotment would last for five years, and the remaining revenue would be transmitted to the state general fund.
Although the increased excise tax rate was removed from the latest Senate version, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has separately indicated plans to double the double the current tax rate via the budget process, raising it to 20 percent.
Certain Democrats have so far indicated a willingness to finesse the cannabis law, but they’ve said the Senate sponsor’s proposed changes to provisions around issues such as home cultivation are a bridge too far.
The Senate bill’s advancement and House measure’s introduction comes as Ohio’s GOP House speaker seems to have changed his tune on the state’s marijuana law somewhat, walking back his previously stated plan to undermine provisions of the voter-approved initiative such as home cultivation rights.
Conflicts between Senate and House Republican leadership near the end of the last session played a key role in stalling amendment proposals. It’s unclear if the chambers will be able to reach consensus this round, especially as the market continues to evolve and consumers adopt to the law.
Ohio’s Senate president recently pushed back against criticism of the marijuana amendment bill, claiming that the legislation does not disrespect the will of the electorate and would have little impact on products available in stores.
“I believe it’s a reasonable compromise amongst the various interested parties and believe it is good policy for the state of Ohio,” Stewart said of his own legislation. “The goal here is to come out with a bill that we believe can pass.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Matt Huffman (R), who is the cousin of SB 56’s sponsor and previously served as Senate president, said that while he continues to oppose the reform measure voters passed, he doesn’t believe anyone in the legislature “realistically is suggesting that we’re going to repeal the legalization of marijuana.”
“I’m not for it. I wasn’t for the casinos coming to Ohio, either. But there’s lots of stuff that’s part of the Constitution and the law that are there that I don’t like,” he said.
Stewart on Thursday thanked the speaker “for his involvement at this point, working closely with our policy staff in drafting this legislation.”
To that end, the speaker indicated he’s no longer interested in pursuing plans to broadly undermine the cannabis law, despite having backed legislation as a Senate leader last session that would have decreased allowable THC levels in state-legal cannabis products, reduced the number of plants that adults could grow at home and increased costs for consumers at dispensaries.
Initially, changes backed by Matt Huffman last year would have eliminated home cultivation rights entirely for Ohio adults and criminalized all cannabis obtained anywhere other than a state-licensed retailer.
While some Democratic lawmakers have previously indicated that they may be amenable to certain revisions, such as putting certain cannabis tax revenue toward K-12 education, other supporters of the voter-passed legalization initiative are firmly against letting legislators undermine the will of the majority that approved it.
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Meanwhile, as 2024 came to a close with the new marijuana legalization law in effect, Ohio officials announced the state saw adult-use cannabis sales exceed $242 million.
As the 2025 session gets underway, lawmakers are also expected to consider key changes to the state’s hemp laws. In November, legislators took testimony on a proposal that would ban intoxicating hemp products in the state. Steve Huffman, the sponsor of the marijuana revision bill, introduced that proposal after the governor called on lawmakers to regulate or ban delta-8 THC products.
As the 2025 session gets underway, lawmakers are also expected to consider key changes to the state’s hemp laws. In November, legislators took testimony on a proposal that would ban intoxicating hemp products in the state. Huffman, the sponsor of the marijuana revision bill, introduced that proposal after the governor called on lawmakers to regulate or ban delta-8 THC products.
Separately, despite legalization of adult-use cannabis in Ohio, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’s (VA) Cincinnati health center issued a reminder last summer that government doctors are still prohibited from recommending medical cannabis to veterans—at least as long as it remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law.
North Carolina House Speaker Says Republican Lawmakers Could Be More Open To Medical Marijuana Legalization This Year
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