In a move that was widely predicted, Ohio Senate Republicans proposed to eliminate home grow and make other changes to the law that was approved by 55 percent of voters on Nov. 7th. Sub.HB 86 was entered this week as an attempt by lawmakers to subvert the will of the voters and amend the legalization law.
Citizens still have time to voice their opinions. Reach out to the members of the Senate General Government Committee via phone or email TODAY and let them know how you feel about the proposed changes to the adult-use law.
What would Sub.HB86 Do?
- Eliminate Home Grow.
- Increase excise tax (above sales tax) from 10% to 15% … with changing where the money goes.
- Possession limit of 1 oz of plant material, 5 grams of extract, or 500mg of THC in any other form (this effects topicals and edibles) at a time.
- Public Smoking Ban.
- Same licensure as Medical Program Fees.
- A license limit of 230, where 107 licenses are currently being occupied in the medical program. The current medical program licensees would hold priority of an additional adult use license. Potentially, if the current license holders opt for an additional license, that would leave 16 additional licenses left for anyone else.
- A 25% cap on flower and a 50% cap on concentrates.
- THIS LEGISLATION WOULD ALSO: Prohibit the retail sale of any hemp product that contains more than 0.5 milligram of delta-9 THC per serving, and more than 2 milligrams of D9 per product. It would also ban from retail all other THCs, including delta-8, without limitation.
- Add travel regulations in both the medical and adult-use program (unopened, in the trunk).
- Licenses will be given out by lottery.
- No advertisements on a billboard, transmitted on the radio, television, internet, or broadcast.
- The first DUI comes with a misdemeanor of the first degree with mandatory 3 days in jail, up to 6 months – judge depending, second offense is mandatory 10 days in jail, up to 6 months judge depending.
- The first DUI fines will vary from $375 to $1,075, second offense will be $525 to $1,625.
- Cultivators get an excise tax of 15%.
How can citizens oppose it?
Citizens still have time to voice their opinions. Reach out to the members of the Senate General Government Committee via phone or email TODAY and let them know how you feel about the proposed changes to the adult-use law.
Michael A. Rulli
Committee Chair
(614) 455-8285
Kirk Schuring
Committee Vice Chair
(614) 466-0626
William DeMora
Ranking Member
(614) 466-4583
Theresa Gavarone
Member
(614) 466-8060
Robert McColley
Member
(614) 466-8150
Sub. H. B. No. 86
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Day 1 of Testimony for Sub. HB. No. 86: Opponents/Proponents and Interested Parties
- Opponents:
- Geoff Kroff from Galenas
- Matt Close from Ohio Cannabis Collation
- Brian Scotese from Lighthouse Sciences
- Chris Avondet from the Outdoor Advertising Association of Ohio
- Jeff Terlep of OUTFRONT Media
- Greg Churilla from Lamar Advertising Company
- Daniel Kessler from Riviera Creek
- Tim Bechtold of the Ohio Association of Broadcasters
- Ted Bibart
- Julie Doran from Ohio Friends and Family
- Anthony Riley from Ohio Cannabis Live
- Bob Heitic as self
- Jonathan Miller of the US Hemp Roundtable
- Tom Roberts of Ohio NAACP
- Andrew St. Hilaire as self
- Matt Fleming as Self
- Proponents
- Hannah Hayes from Central Ohio Poison Center
- John Colvin from Drug and Poison Information Center
- Rob Crane from Preventing Tobacco Foundation
- Rick Carfagna from Ohio Chamber of Commerce
- Interested Party
- Mike Getlin of Nectar Markets of Ohio
- William Schuck as self
- Nickole Ross of Noohra Labs
- Corrine Gasper of Self and Jennifer’s Messengers
- Aubree Adams of Self and Every Brain Matters
- Bill Creedon of Ohio Manufacturers’ Association
- Robert Butler from the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police
- Tim Johnson from Cannabis Safety First
- Linda Hondros from Purpose Leaf, LLC
- Robert Nichols as self
- Kent Scarret from Ohio Municipal League
- Fran Gerbig from Prevention Action Alliance
- Taylor Harrison of Craft Wine Association
Notes from Ohio Sub. HB. No. 86 December 5th Testimonies
Chairman Rulli began the by saying he is excited about the amount of passion for this bill. He spoke about lowering the temperature and said “we will do our best” to meet the people’s wishes. “Right now the people will be heard clearly,” he added.
The testimonies had a ton of industry leaders speaking their mind, but there were also advertisers and broadcasters that had opinions on the advertisement clauses in the amended bill.
Mike Getlin spoke first. Getlin, from Nectar Markets, brought in cannabis vapes from a dispensary and gummies from a street vendor with concern about the lack of child protection from the street vendors. He said Ohio will feed into Michigan’s program with nowhere to get adult-use marijuana when it is legalized on Thursday. “Let’s hope we do not accidentally create a black market on steroids for the next 9 to 18 months.” He noted they had a similar problem in Oregon where people started selling on Instagram and out of their vans. “We are your best partner and you are ours to get this done,” he noted.
Geoff Korff from Galenas mentions the changes to the taxes rates and potency levels for plant material and concentrates. “It will create a program that has products no one will want to buy and that no one can afford so they will buy it somewhere else.” He added, “The patients will be in the same position as they are now, driving to Michigan, and they will have a larger slice of the Ohio market than Ohio has.”
Matt Close from the Ohio Cannabis Coalition said he is in support of current medical marijuana dispensaries selling adult use starting Thursday to combat the issue of the unregulated market thriving in under the new law.
William Schuck, a Columbus resident and citizen advocate, says there is good and bad in the bill. He is concerned about tracking purchases to prevent people from using more than legally allowed by possession limits and suggests a daily limit. Schuck also spoke about needing adequate warning labels on cannabis products about possible harms.
Senator DeMora said that the voters spoke and that he said it would be “egotistical to ignore the 70% margin of his constituents”.
Brian Scotese from Lighthouse Sciences explains that biomass is hoarded by those who control it, and standalone processors are squeezed out of the dispensary because corporate has told them not to provide shelf space for them to accommodate our MSO partners. Vertical businesses are hoarding their products from independent processors. He says, “Let us control our own supply chain. We are asking for 10,000 sqft of canopy space to provide our own biomass and one dispensary to survive.”
Jeff Terlep of OUTFRONT Media wants to balance public safety and support free enterprise concerning advertising. “We can learn from Michigan and do it better”, proclaims Terlep.
Nickole Ross from Noohra Labs echoed the same concerns as Brian Scotese from Lighthouse Sciences about shelf space and biomass supply in the medical program. She also asked the legislators for 10,000sqft of canopy space.
Daniel Kessler from Riviera Creek’s top priority is to stop the illicit market. He says the tax and potency limits will fuel the illicit market. “For the illicit market to fail, the regulated market needs to thrive.”
Tim Bechtold from the Ohio Association of Broadcasters believes that rules and regulations should be set by the division of cannabis control and not the legislators. Bechtold suggested mimicking the alcohol and casino rules when it comes to advertisements. He also believes that the advertising ban could be unconstitutional.
John Colvin with the Drug and Poison Information Center was concerned about accidental poisoning of THC. He stated the number of accidental THC poisonings in children increased 20x since medical marijuana sales began in Ohio. Colvin asked that some of the tax revenue be allocated to funding the influx of calls they expect to get from the adult-use cannabis law going into effect.
Continued: Ohio Sub. HB. No. 86 December 5th Testimonies
Robert Butler from the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police testified to ask for an allocation of funds for police training and disagrees with how funds will be reimbursed. Senator DeMora mentioned that the current adult-use law gives 36% of the tax money to local government. He asked, “Is that more valuable than the training $40million from the state budget or not?” Robert says they need the $40million in addition to the 36% of the local government fund. “If law enforcement isn’t given the money then they won’t be trained to deal with this issue.”
Meanwhile, Tim Johnson of Cannabis Safety First proposes that no tax dollars go to law enforcement training equipment or benefits. He points out that the “ATF is not providing tax dollars to help combat issues in society caused by their products. Why does cannabis have to?”
Rob Crane with the Preventing Tobacco Foundation equated marijuana use ton being a poor driver and not going to work. He believes that high doses of THC are an addiction issue and wants to abolish Issue 2 altogether.
Ted Bibart is an Ohio licensed attorney, who testified as a citizen. He was the first patient advocate on the Ohio Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee. Bibart disagrees with the THC potency caps because it will lead to an “adulteration of products”.
Julie Doran from Ohio Friends and Family brings up that the proposed changes fuels the unregulated market. Doran also gave a rebuttal for all of the remarks about Ohioans not knowing what they voted for. “The voters wanted home grow and they knew what they were voting for.”
Anthony Riley from Ohio Cannabis Live brings up the fact that allowing smoking in the adult-use program but not the medical program will cause some issues. He says current restrictions will kill the program and suggests we can find common ground with the medical program. Riley suggested having a townhall for the public to speak directly to the lawmakers because of how hard it is to navigate the political space as an average citizen. Anthony concludes his testimony by mentioning how we are losing money to that state up North. “We already lost at football, why can’t we win in cannabis? Ohio Needs to Win, Go Bucks!”
Latasha Roundtree, one of Ohio’s hardest working and passionate cannabis advocates tells her story as a medical marijuana refugee until Ohio legalized medicinal cannabis. She successfully used cannabis to shrink a tumor and to manage her pain. She believes that homegrow is important to those who want control over their medicine. Roundtree also notes that there is “no pathway from craft to commercial and social equity and home grow was a start that has been taken away.”
Cat Packer of the Drug Policy Alliance has experience with cannabis reform and equity building from her time in California. Packer points out that “we need to center social justice and equity.” Moreover, she asked the legislators to stop using the term “black market” and to “not solidify it in our institutions” as it comes with negative and racist connotations. She offers the terms “unregulated”, “untaxed,” or “unlicensed” as an alternative.
Ohio Sub. HB. No. 86 Hearing Continues Today
Rulli closed the December 5th session by stating that the people’s voices have been heard, but nothing is done yet. The Senate General Government Committee will continue hearing testimony today at 11 am. It can be viewed via livestream on The Ohio Channel.
MedicateOH will report on the results of the hearing, which comes just a day before portions of Ohio’s Adult Use marijuana law go into effect. Continue to follow MedicateOH and subscribe below to learn about changes to the laws concerning marijuana in Ohio.
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