Ohio legislators ‘push pause’ on cannabis reform legislation

Ohio lawmakers will likely go on summer break without making any changes to the state’s cannabis law, a Republican state representative said this week (Source:”‘We are going to push pause’ on Ohio marijuana legislation, says Republican lawmaker,” Ohio Capital Journal, June 25).

For the second week in a row, Ohio Senate Bill 56 was up for a possible vote by the Ohio House Judiciary Committee, but both times the vote did not take place.
Once the bill is voted out of committee, it can be brought to the House floor for a vote. The Senate passed the bill in February.  

Last week, the bill was removed from the committee agenda and this week the committee meeting — which only had S.B. 56 on the agenda — was canceled. 
“We are going to push pause,” state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said when asked about the cannabis bill. “We’re going to take the summer and come back and potentially take another crack at it.”

S.B. 56 would reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, limit the number of active dispensaries to 400 and prohibit smoking in most public places. It would keep Ohio’s home grow the same at a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence.

Ohioans passed a citizen-initiated law to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 with 57% of the vote, and sales started in August 2024. Ohio lawmakers can change the law since it was passed as a citizen initiative, not a constitutional amendment.