Intoxicating hemp ban goes to governor

SANDUSKY — State lawmakers recently approved a bill that largely bans the sale of intoxicating hemp, such as Delta 8 THC, and sets new rules for the sale and consumption of legal marijuana. On Tuesday, the Ohio Senate approved the final version of Senate Bill 56. It was passed earlier by the Ohio House. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to sign the bill. Its provisions could go into effect by March, or 90 days after being signed. DeWine had been seeking a ban on intoxicating hemp sales. He's pointed out that there's been little regulation of such sales, including age limits for customers. While the bill technically does not ban intoxicating hemp, such as Delta 8 THC products, it limits the sale to licensed marijuana dispensaries, eliminating the sale of intoxicating hemp in service stations, smoke shops and other businesses. Congress also effectively banned intoxicating hemp sales when it ended the government shutdown but did not make the ban take effect until a year away, in late 2026, giving the intoxicating hemp industry time to lobby for a rollback of the law. Senate Bill 56 also makes some changes in Ohio's law allowing sales of recreational marijuana to state residents who are at least 21 years old. Debate over changes Whether the changes in legal marijuana use are a big deal is a matter of dispute. Republican leaders said they've kept the major provisions of the law while making some tweaks. Many Democrats, meanwhile, stressed how the new law doesn't respect the will of the voters. Many of the biggest changes sought by the Ohio Senate were defeated by resistance in the Ohio House. For example, Senate leaders wanted to: • Raise the marijuana tax from 10% to 15% • Reduce the number of marijuana plants that could be legally grown at home Both proposals were defeated relatively early in the process. The limit for growing marijuana plants remains at six per adult and 12 per household. It's not allowed to be grown in a child care home or halfway house. The proposed new law does ban growing marijuana plants if a landlord forbids it in a rental property agreement. Selling homegrown weed is also banned. How consumers are impacted It is also true that some of the changes will have little immediate effect on users. For example, the number of marijuana dispensaries is capped at 400. As there are currently 187, a number that is slowly growing as new dispensaries open, it will take a while to bump up against the limit. Similarly, the THC content for "flower," or smokable marijuana, is capped at 35%. That apparently would affect only a very small part of the current market. Potent products will continue to be sold. One important provision of the bill is that local communities that have allowed dispensaries will finally get their share of the tax revenue raised by marijuana sales. In the Sandusky area and beyond, that means Perkins Township and the cities of Huron, Norwalk and Fremont. Here are some of the changes that could affect people who consume adult use marijuana: • Users would be banned from buying marijuana from other states and bringing it into Ohio. The provision seems largely aimed at users who buy cheaper marijuana products from Michigan dispensaries. Ohio lawmakers justify the ban by saying Michigan has different rules for testing and regulating marijuana. • Products bought in Ohio dispensaries would have to be stored in the original packaging. • Legally purchased marijuana products must be stored in your car's trunk when they are transported to your home. Previously opened marijuana packages must be kept in the trunk. If the vehicle does not have a trunk, it must be out of reach of the driver. • Marijuana cannot be consumed in public. The law does clarify that users can consume it on their private property outside at home, for example, on the porch or in the back yard, not just inside their residence. But landlords can ban smoking in a rental house as part of a lease agreement, just as they can ban tobacco smoking, limiting tenants to edibles. • Cannabis products, such as edibles, may not be sold if they have "the characteristics of a realistic or fictional human, animal or fruit, including artistic, caricature or cartoon renderings." This is meant to keep them from appealing to children. • Reasonable amounts of purchased or homegrown marijuana may be transferred to another adult if no money changes hands. The limit for plant material, for example, is two and a half ounces. • Prerolled marijuana cigarettes can now be sold by dispensaries. This provision puts into law a provision recently approved as a state rule by regulators.