- Would allow doctors to recommend cannabis for any debilitating condition
- Bill would increase the number of dispensaries
- Move oversight of medical marijuana program to Department of Commerce
Ohio lawmakers are renewing a push to overhaul the medical cannabis program ahead of a potential ballot question on recreational marijuana later this year.
Sens. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, and Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, introduced legislation this week that would revamp the program after a similar bill stalled in the previous General Assembly. Senate Bill 9 would allow doctors to recommend cannabis for any debilitating condition, increase the number of dispensaries and let growers expand their facilities.
Under the proposal, oversight of the program would fall to the Department of Commerce. It’s currently managed by three different state agencies, which many in the cannabis industry say is overly burdensome.
The bill also:
- Creates a commission within Commerce to regulate the program that includes physicians, employers, law enforcement, addiction specialists and representatives for patients. The 13 members would be appointed by the governor and House and Senate leaders.
- Allows patients with out-of-state medical marijuana cards to get cannabis in Ohio, provided they register with a state database.
- Lets dispensaries advertise on social media without prior approval.
- Affirms that dispensaries can offer a drive-thru or curbside pickup, which some already do.
- Prohibits dispensaries from being located within a mile of each other.
“It’ll take away the bureaucracy of things,” Huffman said. “Right now, we know people want to grow more so the price will come down, and it’s good for the consumer.”
Some changes from the previous bill aim to address frustration within the medical marijuana industry. For example, it establishes a merit-based system for awarding dispensary licenses after complaints over a state lottery system used to allocate 70 new licenses.
But the legislation still allows specific processors to acquire a cultivation license, something critics say is aimed squarely at special interests within the industry. It also creates different expansion limits for large-scale, level I cultivators and level II cultivators, a sore spot for business owners in both categories. Huffman said he hopes to reach a consensus with those groups this time around.
“I think there’s a divide, and I don’t know if this divide gets healed here,” said Brian Wingfield, who owns Ohio Cannabis Company in Coshocton.
Meanwhile, advocates for adult-use marijuana have sent their proposed law to the Legislature for a second time. Lawmakers have four months to consider it under the initiated statute process, but they’re expected to punt it. At that point, groups behind the effort will gather signatures to place it before voters in November.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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