Latest news with #Bill56
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio Republican lawmakers plan to pass marijuana restrictions by end of June
The Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.) Ohio Republicans plan to pass recreational marijuana reform by the end of June. Both the House and Senate are working together to create restrictions, which have drawn criticism from legalized marijuana supporters around the state. Under the law passed by Ohio voters in November 2023, if you are 21 years old or older, you can smoke, vape, and ingest marijuana. Individually, you can grow six plants, but you can grow up to 12 plants per household if you live with others. Right now, Ohio House and Senate leaders are negotiating for multi-chamber-approved cannabis reform. 'Generally, trying to get to a place that more people support,' House Finance Chair Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said. The lawmakers are trying to combine two bills: Senate Bill 56 and House Bill 160. Both make dozens of changes to cannabis access, but most notably, S.B. 56 limits THC content and reduces home growing to six plants, while H.B. 160 limits THC and keeps home growing the same. Asked if Statehouse Republicans had come to an agreement yet, Stewart said 'stay tuned.' He added that he did like the House's substitute bill — one that addressed the 'desire in the caucus to have low-dose drinks.' 'I think that there are going to be some adjustments on the criminalization side that should hopefully address some of those concerns,' Stewart said. That answer depends on who you ask. Ohio Senate Republican leaders have continued to say that the voters knew they wanted legal weed — but the lawmakers claim that voters didn't know everything they were voting on. Stewart and House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, have echoed those claims. 'It's obviously a complex issue growing out of the '23 initiative and with the growth of the THC, hemp, and artificially created hemp products,' he said. Huffman said he wanted to deal with delta 8, low-level THC products sold in convenience stores with no age limits first, as his 'primary goal is regulating the sale of all these products, including getting them out of the stores where they're accessible to minors.' Ohio Democratic lawmakers, and some Republicans, disagree with Huffman, saying it's about control. 'We want to make sure that the will of voters is protected,' House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said. 'We want to make sure that the use of that revenue is upheld.' Contact them. To find your district's legislators, click here. You will see a page where you can put in your address. From there, two people should pop up on the screen. If you click the lawmaker's icon, you will be directed to their page. From there, you will see a banner with different options. Click the one that says 'Contact.' Depending on your browser, you may need to click a 'More' option before 'Contact.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida Gov. DeSantis to ban weather modification, track 'chemtrail' complaints
Floridians scared of "chemtrails" will soon have a way to voice their concerns about these streaks in the sky. On May 6, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would sign (SB 56), which would prohibit "geoengineering and weather modification activities" in Florida, including cloud seeding. It's the process of releasing tiny particles into the air to increase precipitation, a practice used in arid parts of the Southwestern United States like Utah to increase the water supply. The Senate's bill tracking website showed that the measure still had not been sent to the governor's desk. He will have "seven consecutive days" to act once he receives it, under the state constitution; lawmakers extended the yearly regular session because they did not reach agreement on the state budget. They're expected to return to Tallahassee May 12. "Florida is not a testing ground for geoengineering," DeSantis posted on X. "We already do not permit this type of activity, but we are going the next step to ensure it does not happen in this state. "As soon as it reaches my desk, I will be signing the recently passed Senate Bill 56 to prohibit the release of chemicals into our skies to alter the weather or atmosphere. The Free State of Florida means freedom from governments or private actors unilaterally applying chemicals or geoengineering to people or public spaces." Even though the federal government has stated it does not modify the weather and that solar geoengineering is "nonexistent," Florida's elected officials this session backed legislation that plays into a decades-old conspiracy theory that the government is spreading chemicals in the air, in some cases to control people's minds. Contrails on a cool March day are seen over the skies of Melbourne, Florida. "We have a right to know what is being introduced into our atmosphere and what the potential ramifications are," added Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Coral Gables, the bill's sponsor, at an event with DeSantis in Miami. "We must demand accountability and oversight to ensure that the pursuit of technological solutions do not overcome at the expense of our health, environment and our future." Marla Maples, President Donald Trump's ex-wife, advocated for the bill, Garcia said, and Maples was at the bill signing. At the start of her comments, Garcia appeared to faint after asking for a moment to sit down, but minutes later finished her speech at the lectern. "We are sending a powerful message to the nation and the world that we prioritize the health of our environment and the right of our citizens to clean, unmanipulated skies," she said. DeSantis called Garcia "determined" for leading the effort to pass the legislation. What are 'chemtrails'? As previously reported, some believe cloud seeding, contrails and "chemtrails" are all intertwined. (The term contrail is a portmanteau of "condensation" and "trail"; chemtrail is "chemical" and "trail.") Contrails are the line-shaped clouds visible behind aircraft engines under certain atmospheric conditions. They happen when hot, humid air from the engines condenses into ice crystals in the cold air, the National Weather Service says. Some, however, believe these are "chemtrails," or evidence of the government researching solar geoengineering, a theoretical practice which would modify the atmosphere to shade Earth's surface by reflecting sunlight back into space. Tennessee became the first state last year to enact a law banning geoengineering. Other states followed suit, including Kentucky and Arizona. Iowa also is considering it. In Florida, the bill will prohibit: "The injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of a chemical, a chemical compound, a substance, or an apparatus into the atmosphere within the borders of this state for the express purpose of affecting the temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight."" It will also require the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to track complaints and information from residents with concerns about "chemtrails." The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has debunked the "chemtrail" conspiracy and other myths, like the government has the possibility to modify hurricanes. "No technology exists that can create, destroy, modify, strengthen or steer hurricanes in any way, shape or form," NOAA says. (This story was updated to add new information.) Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@ This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis to ban weather modification, track 'chemtrail' complaints
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Marijuana backers criticize Ohio bills attempting to change state law
Stock photo from Getty Images. Marijuana advocates called bills to change Ohio's weed laws 'a slap in the face' to voters. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws hosted a webinar last week about two bills that are trying to change Ohio's marijuana laws. 'Whether one believes that cannabis ought to be legal or not is almost a secondary issue,' said NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano. 'The primary issue ought to be that elections have consequences, and the results of elections should matter.' Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 by passing a citizen-initiated law, meaning Ohio lawmakers can change the law. Marijuana sales started in August 2024 and the state's total recreational marijuana sales were $376,482,070 as of Saturday, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Ohio looks like it has been rolling along very smoothly, and implementation has been going well,' said NORML Political Director Morgan Fox. 'There have been no major complaints from Ohioans, and it's premature for the legislature to try to interfere with it.' There are bills in both chambers trying to rewrite Ohio's marijuana laws — Senate Bill 56 and House Bill 160. 'It's not as if this pushback is coming because there have been negative or adverse consequences of Issue Two being implemented,' Armentano said. 'The law is working just fine, and Ohioans are happy with it. Lawmakers are trying to meddle with it and act as if there are issues with the law, when in fact, we're seeing the laws playing out the way voters intended.' These bills would be dangerous for cannabis users in Ohio, said Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulation at Drug Policy Alliance. 'There are so many ways that if you are a cannabis consumer in Ohio, with either of these bills passed, you should consider that the law will consider you a criminal,' she said. S.B. 56 would cut the number of Ohio's home grow plants in half from 12 plants down to six, reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, and require marijuana can only be used in a private residence. THC potency caps are a solution in search of a problem, Armentano said. 'Voters, by and large, don't like potency caps for cannabis,' he said. 'If we simply remove these products from the market, we're not going to get rid of the demand, but what we're going to do is drive the production of these products to the unregulated market.' S.B. 56 does allow someone to apply to the sentencing court to have their record expunged, but they would have to pay a $50 filing fee. The bill would require marijuana to only be transported in the trunk of a car when traveling and would limit the number of active dispensaries to 350. The Ohio Senate passed S.B. 56 last month, which would ban Ohioans from using marijuana that is not either from a licensed Ohio dispensary or cultivated at a consumer's home — meaning it would be illegal for Ohioans to drive up to Michigan to buy marijuana and bring it back over state lines. The bill has yet to have a hearing in the House. 'If you were to pass a joint or share your home grown cannabis, or share your cannabis with your spouse or your roommate, you would be a criminal again,' said Karen O'Keefe, director of state policies at Marijuana Policy Project. House Bill 160 would keep home grow and tax levels the same, but reduce THC levels and redirect most of the tax revenue to the state's general fund. The current tax revenue is divided up in several ways — 36% to the cannabis social equity and jobs fund, 36% to the host community cannabis fund, 25% to the substance abuse and addiction fund and 3% to the Division of Cannabis Control and Tax Commissioner Fund. 'My concern is we wouldn't be dedicating those monies where voters decided that the money should go,' Packer said. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's budget proposal would increase the tax on marijuana from 10% to 20%. The Ohio House is currently working on the budget, which is due July 1. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fact check: Ohio GOP claims legalizing marijuana increases crime. It doesn't, legal expert says.
Now-Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, left, and Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, right. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.) Ohio Republican lawmakers continue to draft legislation restricting access to recreational marijuana, angering citizens across the political spectrum. But when one of the most powerful leaders is urging for restrictions, claiming that marijuana increases crime, viewers and readers asked us to look into it. We have a running series of answering questions and concerns about weed. This story focuses mainly on the lawmakers, claims they are making, and why they are proposing changes to current policy. Earlier installments have focused on learning the basics of the law, and then how to buy it, before it was open legal sales started in August 2024. Then, we answered questions on where to partake and then employment concerns. Our most recent story dealt with the latest restrictive proposal passed by the Ohio Senate. Many of the questions and comments for this piece stemmed from Thursday's story, which was about the Ohio House's proposal. First, let's break down the current law. If you are 21 years old or older, you can smoke, vape, and ingest marijuana. Individually, you can grow six plants, but you can grow up to 12 plants per household if you live with others. You can have up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in all forms except for concentrates, which you can only have up to 15 grams. There are two bills being proposed by legislators — Senate Bill 56 and House Bill 160. Both make dozens of changes to cannabis access, but most notably, S.B. 56 limits THC content and reduces home growing to six plants while H.B. 160 limits THC and keeps home growing the same. For deep dives into each proposal, click here for Senate version and here for House version. Although House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, was addressing a question about local governments having their fair share of the tax revenue from marijuana, he made some statements about crime that caught our interest. 'Those local governments, by and large, are going to use the revenue to deal with the problems that are caused by more marijuana being available in the community — we're going to have more crime; we're going to have more addiction problems,' Huffman said. 'What are you basing that off of?' we asked the speaker. 'Really?' he responded incredulously. When this reporter nodded, he laughed and said he would give me what he thought was an equivalent. This was alcohol. 'The more alcohol is available, the more people drink and the more bad behavior results… That's what happens with marijuana and other substances that cause people to think poorly when they take it,' he said. He also said that it is linked to an increase in suicides if teens get access to it. 'I think that it's pretty clear that the science shows real problems, and we'll have to deal with it,' he added. But Case Western Reserve University Law professor Jonathan H. Adler, who also wrote 'Marijuana Federalism: Uncle Sam and Mary Jane,' a book on the intersection of marijuana legalization, law and crime, corrected Huffman. 'When you look at crime statistics in jurisdictions that have taken this step, you don't see dramatic effects on crime and certainly don't see evidence of significant negative effects on crime, or increases in crime, that some people fear,' Adler said. 'There's evidence that suggests some sorts of crime may, in fact, decline.' Legalization of adult-use cannabis 'appears to reduce highway fatalities, appears to reduce some types of violent crime,' he continued. Even OVI incidents and enforcements in Ohio are down from 2024, before legal sales went into effect. As of March 2, there have been hundreds fewer in 2025 than this time last year, according to data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Dozens of studies done over decades have had differing results, which is why Adler warns about using absolutes as Huffman did. 'People on various sides of the debate about marijuana legalization cherry-pick the studies that support their priors,' the professor continued. 'But when you look at the broader reviews of the literature as a whole, they don't see these big effects.' One must be careful not to confuse correlation and causation, he continued. There are so many variables as to why crime may increase one year and not the next. Although he dismissed Huffman's claims about crime and addiction, he acknowledged the speaker's statement that marijuana has been linked to youth suicide. 'The evidence that you see overall increases in suicide is still very weak,' he said. There is a stigma surrounding marijuana, and for a reason, he added. Federally, it's still illegal — so it's a crime. If someone is already breaking the law to steal, they probably wouldn't have an issue with breaking the law to smoke weed. But those crimes still aren't comparable. 'A lot of the negative effects that were predicted don't appear to be materializing,' he said. 'That doesn't mean there aren't negative effects, right?' This isn't to say that cannabis is a wonder drug, he laughed. 'Positive predictions not panning out — a lot of states thought the economic benefits in terms of tax revenue would be far greater than they've turned out to be,' he said. He said he thinks marijuana should be regulated like alcohol at the federal level, for sure, but that Huffman can't treat them the same when it comes to what they do to the body. 'There are people who will have a lot of alcohol and want to go out and do crazy things,' he said. 'And a lot of people that will want to use marijuana just sit on their couch and watch Netflix and eat Doritos or something.' The 'empirical evidence does seem to confirm a bit of that stereotype,' he laughed. Although he was speaking as a nonpartisan professor, Adler, who is a well-known conservative commentator, gave a final warning to the GOP leaders. 'There is always a risk that increasing regulation or restricting what's available to consumers will push some people into the illicit market,' he said. Senate GOP leaders have continued to say that the voters knew they wanted legal weed — but didn't know everything they were voting on. When it came to the other chamber and their more flexible version, we asked House Finance Chair Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, who is sponsoring H.B. 160, the same question. 'What do you say to the voters who say this isn't what they chose and they spoke, they don't want it reduced to 70%, they don't want the taxes going to the general revenue fund,' we asked him. 'I think that there is a core of what voters made clear that they wanted, that showed up in virtually all debate and public testimony on this, which is: 'We want to legalize marijuana, we want it to be taxed at 10%, we want to be able to grow it at home,'' the lawmaker responded. 'I think that beyond that, I think there's some fine print that was less important to folks in making that determination [of] how they voted.' He continued, adding that the voters put this forward as an initiated statute. 'Any idea that we're going to pass a law, and it's just the law for the end of time, and it's never subject to the democratic process and revision is not realistic, right?' he said. 'Putting something into initiated statute leaves it within the realm of the democratic process. So I think we are making very, very few changes here, and I think the folks who have contacted my office and said, 'Hey, we don't want certain restrictions on Issue 2' — nothing in our bill here contradicts that.' 'Are you insinuating that voters didn't read the entirety of Issue 2 and didn't know what they were voting on?' we asked. 'I have no idea what every single voter did or didn't do,' he replied. 'I said, I think when this is marketed as 'regulate marijuana like alcohol,' — we're doing that here. You have a 10% tax rate. It's legal. You can do it at home. We're not touching any of the core parts of Issue 2.' To find your district's legislators, click here. You will see a page where you can put in your address. From there, two people should pop up on the screen. If you click the icon of the lawmaker, you will be transported to their page. From there, you will see a banner with different options. Click the one that says 'Contact.' Depending on your browser, you may need to click a 'More' option before 'Contact.' Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Republicans claim voters didn't know what they were voting on when legalizing weed
Republican Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, left, and state Sen. Stephen Huffman, R-Tipp City, right. (Photo from the Ohio Senate website.) Ohio Senate Republicans have voted to change the recreational marijuana policy that the voters enshrined into law in 2023. Amidst protests from cannabis enthusiasts, GOP leaders continue to argue that voters didn't actually know what they were voting on during the election. From discovering medicinal cannabis while dealing with polycystic ovarian syndrome to helping collect signatures to legalize recreational marijuana, Tasha Rountree has been fighting on the front lines for the product. 'Just having something to help get me up, get me moving,' Rountree said, noting other benefits of cannabis, like how it eases her anxiety. This is why she is extremely disappointed in state lawmakers. Since Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to allow for adult-use cannabis in 2023, legislators have been trying to change the law. 'We feel lied to, we feel bamboozled, we feel infiltrated in our community,' she said. Republicans in the Senate have now passed Ohio Senate Bill 56, which would decrease the THC content allowed in products and limit home growing from 12 plants to six. The vote was along party lines, with all nine Democrats voting no. The bill now goes to the Ohio House for consideration. THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid, would be capped under the bill at 100 milligrams per package. It also primarily reduces the allowable THC levels in adult-use extracts from a max of 90% to 70%. To learn more about the bill, click to read this article by the Ohio Capital Journal. State Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, believes that the Senate Republicans' changes are common sense for public safety. 'We want to make sure it's done responsibly, respectfully and protects the children in Ohio,' she said. The lawmaker noted that the bill has a series of advertising restrictions so that it doesn't target youth. The packaging of products can't use any cartoon or character that would appeal to children. Advertisers are not allowed to promote within 500 feet of a slew of places, such as a school, church and public library. They aren't allowed to claim that marijuana has 'any positive health or therapeutic effects.' It also cracks down even more on public smoking. 'I don't think we want our children to be exposed to these types of materials or chemicals,' Roegner added. 'It's just not healthy.' It's easier to say where you can smoke under current law: private property that allows it. The law is relatively unclear, according to legal experts and politicians. Part of the anti-smoking law states that the act is banned from public indoor spaces; however, there are some exceptions: some outdoor patios, individual rooms in nursing homes or hotels and motels that designate rooms for 'smoking.' This seemed to address a very niche aspect of private residence prohibition, meaning if that residence is a child care home or a location where the lease agreement states no one can smoke, a user could get a minor misdemeanor. The bill would change the tax structure. Instead of a portion of the funds going to a social equity fund, which would help marginalized communities get dispensary licenses, that money would be held until lawmakers decide where it should go, according to an analysis by the Legislative Services Commission. Rountree feels that the Black community deserves to have a stake in the industry since extensive data and research have shown that they have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana-related laws. 'We don't have the cultivation sites, we don't have the processing and now we don't have the dispensary — and now we don't even have the opportunity,' she said. 'So it's like, what do we do all that for? We've been lied to, we've [had] a stolen opportunity.' Somehow, it seems the social equity and jobs program has already been removed from the state website despite S.B. 56 not being in effect. A page on the Department of Development website used to detail what the program would do and was previously found here. It is no longer available as of Wednesday evening. Asked for an explanation, the department has not yet responded. The bill would also cap the number of dispensaries in the state to 350. Rountree feared this would eliminate competition, but Roegner disagreed. 'I don't think this will stifle the industry,' she said. 'I mean, this is certainly a booming industry. Something that marijuana supporters did like was a provision that was taken out that would have made marijuana more expensive by hiking taxes. However, the tax policy is currently being debated in the state operating budget. Bill sponsor Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, said that the voters knew they wanted legal weed — but didn't know everything they were voting on. 'I'm not sure why people voted for the initiative — it could have been home grow, public smoking, increase in dispensaries; it could have been anything,' Huffman said. 'We'll never know.' We questioned why this rhetoric persists. '[You and other lawmakers have said] voters knew that they were choosing marijuana, but they didn't know exactly what they were voting. Why do you think that?' we asked Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. 'Well, I wouldn't say they didn't know what they're voting on,' he said, contradicting what he and his colleagues have said for years. 'I think what the comment [that] was made today was that everybody may have had a different reason for getting to yes and, just like with any other large piece of legislation, that is voluminous and dealing with a variety of changes.' He said that since voters chose to vote on it as an initiated statute instead of a constitutional amendment, they should have known the risk that lawmakers would get involved. For context, there are two main ways citizens can get something on the statewide ballot: an initiated statute and a constitutional amendment. The recreational marijuana proposal was an initiated statute, which means it goes into the Ohio Revised Code. An initiated statute, or a law, has an easier process of making it to the ballot than a constitutional amendment. Initiated statutes can be easily changed, while amendments cannot. When pressed further by another reporter, McColley frustratedly answered that there are 'a variety of reasons' why people voted for the bill — and some people voted for one thing and possibly not another. 'Do you think that the changes that he's proposed go against the will of the voters?' we asked Rountree. 'Absolutely, absolutely,' she responded. 'How can you say I'm smart enough to vote for you in office, but I'm not smart enough to know what I voted for? Either I'm incompetent or I'm not.' The bill will now be sent over to the House for review. Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, who in December said he wanted to drastically change the state's marijuana law, had seemingly had a change of heart in January. He has backtracked on at least some of his proposed restrictions after having meetings with the Statehouse's resident marijuana enthusiast. State Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, who blocked Huffman's dramatic changes from passing last General Assembly, said he has been meeting with the speaker to help teach him about the drug and the current policy. He has been helping many other Republicans deal with the legalization of cannabis, Callender said. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
