Ohio House Committee Modifies Voter-Approved Pot Law In Senate-Passed Bill

COLUMBUS – An Ohio House committee has adopted a number of major changes to a Senate bill that would make sweeping adjustments to the state’s adult-use marijuana legalization law. Advocates say the amended bill is an improvement but still undercuts priorities included in Issue 2, passed by voters in 2023.

The action by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday comes as state lawmakers weigh a handful of separate proposals that would revise the voter-approved system. The panel’s move, lawmakers said, is aimed at working toward a single piece of consensus legislation.

“Obviously we’re still in committee,” Rep. Brian Stewart (R) said at the hearing, “and we understand there may be other amendments sought, but I think this is getting us to a single vehicle.”

The newly amended bill, SB 56, will remain before the House Judiciary Committee as members continue to hammer out issues around criminal penalties, tax revenue allocation, allowable products and other issues addressed in the legislation.

Changes approved at Wednesday’s hearing roll back some of the strict limits in SB 56 as passed by the Senate in February, taking language from separate cannabis measures in the House and Senate, Stewart told colleagues.

“What we’re doing is essentially taking House Bill 160 and putting that into Senate Bill 56,” he said. “We’ve also largely taken Senate Bill 86 and put that into Senate Bill 56 as well.”

Drug reform advocates have criticized both SB 56 and its House counterpart, HB 160, as restrictive measures that would undermine the will of voters who passed the state’s legalization law in 2023.

SB 86, meanwhile, is a separate bill that would set regulations on intoxicating hemp products.

Stewart said Wednesday’s committee changes were meant to reflect feedback from interested parties and public comment.

“We believe this is a step in the direction of listening to a lot of the committee testimony that we’ve heard [and] a lot of the interested party meetings that we’ve had,” he said.

The new changes, as explained by Stewart, would remove the bill’s earlier criminal penalty for sharing marijuana or intoxicating hemp products among adults, provided that the sharing takes place on private property.

“If you’re able to use on a property,” the lawmaker explained, “you would be able to share with other folks as well.”

Certain outdoor concert venues would also be exempt from laws against open consumption provided they have separate smoking and vaping areas.