Pot laws differ

Here's a surprising fact as Ohio voters decide the fate of legal marijuana: Michigan is arguably more restrictive in regulating marijuana products than Ohio is. Delta-8 products sit on the shelf at the Glass N More Store in downtown Sandusky. Michigan voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2018 and has stores that openly sell legal weed. Ohio voters will decide in November whether to legalize recreational cannabis. Ohio currently allows only medical marijuana for a specific list of ailments. But Ohio politicians have allowed wide-open sales of "diet weed," Delta-8 THC products derived from the marijuana plant. Some studies suggest that use of it can suppress a user's appetite, according the Healthline, a wellness newsletter. Delta-8 THC, which gets people high just as marijuana does, is widely available in smokeable and edible form in stores across Ohio with no regulations for safety or who can buy it. It's widely sold in Ohio in smoke shops, CBD stores and even in gas stations. Here, not there Michigan, meanwhile, largely wiped out Delta-8 THC sales by moving the product under the jurisdiction of the state's marijuana regulatory agency, which means that it can only be sold in licensed marijuana stores. As a result, Delta-8 sales in Michigan have largely ended. Ohio voters will decide on Nov. 7 whether to legalize the possession and use of marijuana for everyone who is 21 and older. Under Issue 2, adults would be able to buy cannabis in state-licensed stores and to raise up to six marijuana plants at home with 12 plants permitted in homes that have two adults. Although marijuana remains banned by federal law, Delta-8 THC products essentially were legalized through a loophole in the 2018 farm bill, which set rules for products made from hemp. Delta-9 THC is the active ingredient in marijuana. Delta-8 THC is slightly different and is a bit less potent than Delta-9 THC, but it gets users high. Just as people drinking beer can still get drunk, users ingesting enough Delta-8 THC can still get stoned. Delta-8 THC products have been banned in some states, such as New York, but remain legal in many other states, such as Ohio. Vote for or against There are groups actively campaigning for and against the Issue 2. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is in the "no" camp and has said passage of the state question would be a "mistake." DeWine's family home is in Cedarville, a village of about 4,200. Cedarville is close to the governor's hometown, Yellow Springs, which has a population of about 3,700. "New cannabis store opens in downtown Yellow Springs," an article which ran earlier this year in a local newspaper, the Yellow Springs News, described offerings at a new local store, Tweedle D's. "Tweedle D's shelves will be filled with products derived from the different parts of the cannabis plant, such as CBD oils, Delta-8 and Delta-9 products, CBN, CBC and other cannabinoids," the article states. Yellow Springs and Cedarville are considered part of metropolitan Dayton. An article published last year in the Dayton Daily News, written by former Register reporter Cornelius "Cory" Frolik, asserted that Delta-8 THC is widely available in Dayton in gas stations, head shops and other local stores. Frolik wrote that he backed up that assertion by visiting numerous stores, finding "diet marijuana" in "gas stations, liquor stores, smoke shops, vape shops, corner stores, markets and convenience stores all across the region." A Wright State University professor told Frolik that Delta-8 products are "totally unregulated products that are rich in contaminants." While Ohio has many Delta-8 merchants, the same can't be said for Michigan. That's because in Michigan lawmakers passed a law putting Delta-8 THC products under the regulation of Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency, which regulates Michigan's licensed marijuana stores. The measure went into effect in October 2021. That meant that Delta-8 products could no longer be sold in Michigan's gas stations or head shops but instead must be sold in the state's licensed and heavily regulated marijuana stores, where users must show an ID to get inside and which sell products that are tracked from farm to market and tested by state-licensed laboratories. "We do not see Delta-8 proliferation like I know Ohio and other states have," said Michigan attorney John Fraser, a marijuana law specialist. Cheap marijuana While there may be some weed stores in Michigan that sell Delta-8 THC, "it's not a huge priority for them," as marijuana in Michigan has become "very, very cheap" because of a glut in supply, he said. While Michigan marijuana stores require proof that customers are 21 or over, Delta-8 merchants in Ohio and elsewhere operate on a "scout's honor system" to prevent sales to children, Fraser observed. "That doesn't strike me as a particularly good approach," Fraser said. The situation in Michigan is another argument for passing Issue 2, Ohio's issue to legalize recreational marijuana, contends Tom Haren, the spokesman for the group seeking passage, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. If the issue passes in Ohio, consumers who want marijuana can know they are buying products that aren't contaminated or laced with illegal substances, Haren said. That would make buying cannabis products in Ohio similar to buying beer or wine, he said. "I think consumers have a very clear preference for regulated markets," he said.