Ohio bill to regulate Delta-8 products moves forward
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Lawmakers have been working to regulate Delta-8 products since late 2023, largely at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine.
'At the end of the day, it's about the safety of kids,' Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said.
Delta-8 is a low-level THC product that can give a high similar to marijuana but is sold in convenient stores with no age restriction or regulations.
'Anything that we can do to make sure that these things are safe for consumers is a step in the right direction,' Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) said.
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Senate Bill 86 passed the Senate on Wednesday with no votes against it. The Sente did pass a bill last general assembly too, but that died in the House at the end of 2023. At the end of 2024, lawmakers tried again, but the bill died in committee after disagreement about whether a total ban was necessary.
'I think there's some genuine disagreements, but I don't think anything of the problems are unsolvable,' Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said.
This new bill, though, requires that any 'intoxicating hemp' product is sold in a licensed marijuana dispensary and only accessible to Ohioans 21 and over. Some leaders said it is a good start but say the state could go further.
'Frankly, if it were up to me individually, but it's not, I would probably ban the product,' Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said.
But some in the hemp industry said banning, or even simply putting the product in dispensaries, will both strengthen the illicit market and negatively impact small businesses in Ohio.
'Many of these stores that are offering this were already in business before this product was offered,' McColley said. 'I don't have a lot of sympathy for some of those businesses.'
House Bill 160 both changes the state's recreational marijuana laws and requires that Delta-8 products be put behind bars. Huffman said he thinks the two issues should be addressed the same way.
'We say the word hemp, but what I've tried to do is constrict the conversation or the terminology to THC, whether it's coming from marijuana, coming from hemp or coming from some chemical alteration of some subject,' he said.
Though details like that have held up progress in the past, Huffman said he is confident something can get done by June 30.
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