The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
As Ohioans wait to legally purchase recreational-use marijuana, Republican lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly are trying to regulate adult-use hemp products.
State Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton, introduced House Bill 642 on Thursday which would require the Ohio Director of Agriculture to issue recommendations for adult-use hemp products.
If the bill were to pass, the Director of Agriculture (who is currently Brian Baldridge) would conduct and issue a report to the General Assembly about the “sale and use of hemp products that could be used for intoxicating purposes.” The report would be in consultation with the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
The report could include:
- A definition of adult-use hemp products that could include restrictions on the amount of THC allowed in adult-use hemp products based on serving size.
- Where adult-use hemp products may be sold and how those products are stored.
- Minimum age requirements to purchase adult-use hemp.
- Penalties for selling adult-use hemp products to someone who is underage.
- Testing standards and requirements for adult-use hemp products.
- Advertising restrictions and labeling requirements for adult-use hemp products.
- How to enforce these recommendations, which could be giving inspection authority to the Ohio Investigative Unit in the Department of Public Safety.
If the recommendations are adopted, they would be in effect for one year.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called on lawmakers earlier this year to ban or regulate delta-8, which he called “intoxicating hemp.”
Delta-8 is made from hemp, so it is legal under the 2018 Farm Bill which says hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3% THC. Hemp and marijuana are both types of cannabis plants.
Delta-8 is 0.3% THC or less, meaning it is not currently regulated and there is no age requirement to buy it, so teenagers and children can purchase it. These products are sold in smoke shops and gas stations.
At the time of DeWine’s January press conference, there had been at least 257 reports of delta-8 poisoning in Ohio over the last three years, according to the Ohio Poison Control Center.
“I cannot do anything without action by the state legislator,” DeWine said during his January press conference. “I’m just asking the legislature to take action so we can get these products off the shelf. In the meantime, I would ask the retail establishments that are out there … the responsible thing to do is to take it off the shelf. We do need action by the state legislature to make this illegal.”
Ohio Senate
Over in the Senate, Sens. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, and Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, introduced a bill at the end of May that would place restrictions on adult-use hemp products.
Senate Bill 278 would ban selling adult-use hemp products to people under 21. It would also require stores to keep adult-use hemp products behind the counter and ID customers who want to buy those products.
Ohio lawmakers are currently on break and not expected to come back until after the November election.
Marijuana in Ohio
Even though recreational marijuana is legal in Ohio after the passage of Issue 2, there is still nowhere to legally purchase weed.
The Division of Cannabis Control has yet to issue certificates of operations to dispensaries which would allow them to start selling recreational marijuana.
More than 200 facilities have qualified for a provisional license, which is a placeholder while the provisional licensee works to meet the requirements to get a certificate of operation such as having an inspection and demonstrating that employees can tell the difference between medical and recreational sales.
“Following successful completion of that process, Certificates of Operation will be issued based on roughly the order in which completed applications were received,” James Crawford, spokesperson for the Division of Cannabis Control, said in an email.
“Again, there have been no Certificates of Operation issued to dispensaries to begin selling non-medical cannabis at this point.”
Of the 216 facilities that have a provisional license as of Friday, 133 are dispensaries.
License applications must be approved or denied by Sept. 7.
“There will be no one singular day when sales begin,” Crawford said. “We will start issuing licenses and it will be up to the retailer based on staffing, stock and other considerations as to which day they will begin sales.”
Four cultivators and six processors have received certificates of operation.
“This is necessary because dispensaries are not able to sell non-medical product unless the cultivator, processor and lab that have touched that particular product have received their non-medical cannabis Certificate of Operation,” Crawford said in an email.
