The House of Representatives of the state of Ohio has approved a bill that changes the law that legalized cannabis in 2023 by restricting how cannabis can be consumed and regulating intoxicating hemp products.
While maintaining its original provisions and continuing to allow adults 21 or older to grow up to six plants per person or 12 per household, the bill takes a step backward from the law approved by 57% of voters in 2023.
Ohio House lawmakers passed a bill this week that would prohibit public consumption of cannabis products in public spaces and consumers who buy such products outside the state.
Furthermore, the measure also prohibits possessing more than 2.5 ounces (57 grams) of flowers, and exceeding this threshold can result in criminal charges. The bill also introduced a THC potency limit cap of 35% for flowers and 70% for extracts.
In relation to the protections of recreational cannabis consumers, the bill would remove the language that protected employment and other discrimination based solely on lawful personal cannabis use. For example, adults are protected from being fired solely on the basis of off-duty cannabis use under the current legislation. But the bill now makes clear that employers would now have the full authority to discipline, test, or fire workers who use cannabis even off duty.
Lawmakers Target Intoxicating Hemp Market
Along with recreational cannabis legislation, the bill introduces new provisions that aim to regulate intoxicating hemp products, such as delta-8 THC.
This category of products sprang up across the United States following the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp with a low level of THC. That reform allowed manufacturers to chemically convert hemp-derived CBD into delta-8 THC, creating products with intoxicating effects similar to cannabis. Because the federal law did not clearly address these derivatives, a largely unregulated multi-billion-dollar market emerged, with states split between banning or regulating these products.
Due to the unregulated status of intoxicating hemp products and potential threats to public health, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an executive order earlier this month temporarily banning their sale. The move prompted House lawmakers to fast-track approval of the bill.
Under the measure, Ohio will regulate these products by creating hemp dispensary licenses to sell approved intoxicating hemp items containing no more than 0.5 milligrams of THC per serving or two milligrams per package. Such products will face a 10% excise tax, while drinkable cannabinoid products, limited to 10 milligrams of THC per container, will be taxed at $1.20 per gallon.
With this move, Ohio lawmakers, on the one hand, restrict the use of recreational cannabis in the state, but on the other hand, regulate intoxicating hemp products.
The bill received several criticisms. NORML said in a statement that “this bill is a slap in the face to the millions of Ohioans who voted in favor of Issue 2. Once again, politicians are arrogantly trying to claim that the public didn’t know what they were voting for.”
The bill was initially introduced by Republican Senator Stephen A. Huffman in January this year and approved by the Senate in February. Initially, it aimed to revise the medical and recreational cannabis laws, including taxes, and regulate intoxicating hemp products. However, the bill underwent several amendments in the House before being approved this week.