Ohio House-introduced cannabis bill offers fewer changes than Senate version

An Ohio House GOP lawmaker has introduced his own set of changes to cannabis law, just a week after the Senate sent over an overhaul of the state’s adult-use program along party lines (Source: “Ohio House rolls out its own cannabis bill, with fewer changes than Senate version,” Statehouse News Bureau, March 7).
 
House Bill 160, introduced by Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) and awaiting committee assignment, addresses both the existing medical and recreational programs as well as delta-8 THC and other similar products. The latter have gone unregulated by the state for years, but lawmakers haven’t coalesced around what to do with them — whether it be an altogether ban, an age restriction or something in between.
 
As for already-regulated cannabis, HB 160 includes a public smoking ban but allows for cannabis smoking and combustion on residential privately-owned property, like a person’s front porch. The Senate version, Senate Bill 56, limits Ohioans to partaking inside private residences. It also leaves home grow alone, maintaining a 12-plant maximum per household.
 
Both bills limit how concentrated dispensaries’ THC products can be, maxing out at 35% for plants and 70% for concentrates and extracts, although the Ohio Department of Commerce could raise or lower that figure.
 
HB 160, like the latest version of SB 56, also leaves the excise tax at 10%.