The Ohio Senate passed a GOP-led proposal by a 21-9 vote Wednesday to overhaul the state's relatively young recreational marijuana program, and senators voted along party lines, unlike in December 2023.
Introduced by Sen. Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), Senate Bill 56 stems from that 2023 bill, which cleared the chamber the day before cannabis became legal. It merges the state's medical and adult-use programs, among other changes.
SB 56 strictly prohibits smoking marijuana in public, limiting Ohioans to partaking in private residences, and reduces home grow from 12 plants or less to six plants or less, also disallowing any sharing. It also limits how concentrated dispensaries' THC products can be, maxing out at 35% for plant products and 70% for concentrates and extracts—although the Ohio Department of Commerce could raise or lower that figure.
"I don't believe this is going against the voters, at all. This bill, the intention of this bill, is to protect, in my perspective, children and families," Senate General Government Chair Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) said Wednesday. "I don't think this will stifle the industry. I mean, certainly, it's a booming industry, there's a lot of interest in it."
Read more at Statehouse News Bureau