First Recreational Marijuana Act introduced in Ohio

A few Buckeye State lawmakers are poised to set the high in Ohio.

On Thursday, two Democratic House representatives – Casey Weinstein and Terrence Upchurch – introduced laws to legalize and regulate the cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana in the state.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the bill is historic in that it is “the first proposal.” [bill] in Ohio to create a regulated market for the sale of marijuana, ”the newspaper reported.

“We see that there are dramatic economic benefits, there are medical benefits, and there is a strong criminal justice path here so we can focus law enforcement on violent crimes,” Weinstein told the Enquirer. “Ohio is at the point where we will fall behind if we don’t act now. I hope this provides the spark we need to fuel the conversation and get this legislation going. “

Weinstein took to Twitter Thursday to promote the law.

“I look forward to working with my friend and colleague [Terrence Upchurch] as we advance Ohio in this next big step for criminal justice reform, for our veterans, for economic opportunity, and for our individual freedoms, ”Weinstein tweeted. “It’s time. Let’s go!”

Upchurch echoed the excitement in response: “I am honored to be your mutual sponsor, brother. Let us do this!”

The two are looking for more co-sponsors, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the newspaper noted that “Legislation is facing a steep rise in GOP-dominated legislation that barely regulated medical marijuana five years ago – has legalized the program ”.

To make matters worse, the state’s Republican governor Mike Dewine said last year that it would be “truly a mistake for Ohio to say that adult marijuana is only okay”.

According to the Enquirer, the law introduced by Weinstein and Upchurch would do the following: “Adults 21 and older could buy and own up to 5 ounces of marijuana at a time and grow up to 12 mature plants for personal use,” the newspaper reported, while “[c]Cities and villages could limit the type or number of marijuana businesses allowed within their borders. “

Ohio seeks inspiration in Michigan

Ohio need only turn to its northern neighbor for an example of the successful implementation of a state-regulated recreational marijuana program. In 2018, Michigan voters passed a measure legalizing recreational pot on the ballot, and gangbuster sales saw gangbuster sales in Wolverine State’s newly established market.

Weinstein told the Enquirer that their bill is actually modeled on Michigan law. “The bill would keep Ohio’s medical marijuana program, approved in 2016 and launched in 2019, intact,” the newspaper said, while medical “growers, processors and pharmacies could also be licensed on the recreational side.”

Upchurch and his Democratic MP Sedrick Denson tabled bill earlier this year that would allow “the cultivation and possession of marijuana, the modification of possession and cultivation penalties, and the overturning of certain marijuana convictions.”

That law, House Bill 210, “has yet to be heard,” according to the Enquirer, while another law introduced last year that would have decriminalized marijuana use went up in smoke without a hearing.

Ohio voters passed a medical marijuana legalization measure in 2016, but the law didn’t get underway for another two years. Last year, the state’s medical panel agreed to add cachexia, or waste syndrome, to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, despite the fact that the same panel declined proposals to add autism and anxiety to the list.

Last month, the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program introduced new rules for the sale of Delta-8 THC, including a requirement that “the use of Delta-8 THC must include a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that includes the Describes the process and the methods ”. with which Delta-8 THC is used in accordance with state law.