COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio House Republicans are set to introduce legislation that would allow stores and breweries to sell THC-infused drinks, but prohibit all other forms of "intoxicating hemp" products. Also in the proposal, exclusively shared with us, cities would get their long-awaited tax revenue from marijuana dispensary sales. This comes as a court blocks Gov. Mike DeWine's hemp ban.
Years of negotiating on marijuana and hemp policy — with nothing to show for it.
"Frankly, the legislature had not taken action," DeWine said Tuesday.
After nearly two years, DeWine took matters into his own hands last week, signing an executive order temporarily banning what he calls "intoxicating hemp," low-level THC that can be bought at gas stations and smoke shops. It can look like regular candy and has no age requirement to buy it.
On Tuesday, a judge temporarily blocked it.
RELATED: Judge blocks Gov. DeWine's ban on intoxicating hemp with a 14-day temporary restraining order
"I'm still hopeful that the legislature will come in and actually take action," DeWine said.
Each legislative leader agreed that kids should not have access to THC.
"Why is it so difficult to get your caucus to agree on something?" I asked House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima).
"Well, I think it's difficult because... There are three groups: the folks who believe that marijuana should be legalized and regulated... There are other folks who believe that the hemp products should be on equal standing with everything that happened in the initiated statute... And then you have folks, like me, who are prohibitionists, who don't think it should be legalized at all and it should be rare," Huffman said. "I would say the prohibitionists have largely lost this discussion."
The speaker has been trying to wrangle 64 other House Republicans to agree on THC regulations. Finally, a deal was crafted between the two chambers this summer, but the Senate pulled out at the last minute.
RELATED: 2 Ohio Republicans taking on their own party to protect access to marijuana
Now, the House is ready to try again.
"It's going to be a very thoughtful and targeted bill," said state Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) in an exclusive interview with me Friday.
Callender is the resident marijuana expert in the House. In an amendment to Senate Bill 56, which would wipe the vast majority of the existing legislation, the new policy allows stores and breweries to sell THC drinks and regulates the advertisements so they don’t appeal to kids.
"It will have a pretty complete ban other than the beverages, but it's a temporary ban while some rules are being able to be developed so that will give more time," Callender said, saying this isn't necessarily the final draft. "But in the meantime, it will take the high THC content stuff off the shelves, at least temporarily."
But it will deal with more than just hemp.
"On the marijuana side, making sure the tax dollars get to the local governments the way we had promised, the way the voters had promised, and the way local governments had expected," Callender said.
Right now, cities with dispensaries aren't getting tax revenue from sales. The House has been trying to get them their money, but Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) wants to change where the money goes.
"The Senate's already spoken... It's really, at this point, we just got to see what the House is willing to do," McColley said.
The Senate pulled out of the summer agreement, in part, due to the debate on taxes.
RELATED: Ohio GOP infighting stalls marijuana legislation
"Why not just have a clean bill that just deals with hemp instead of adding in some kind of ideas that the Senate might see as controversial about marijuana?" I asked Callender.
"Well, I think we may still end up going there if we have to... If we put it all together, it may be harder for the Senate to say no to some of the marijuana things that we feel strongly about," he responded.
Lawmakers will introduce the amended bill next week, and the lawmaker hopes to send it over to the Senate on Wednesday.
"They can either accept it or not accept it," Callender said. "If they don't, it'll go to conference committee, and it will force the chambers to work the issues out."
The Senate's leading marijuana expert, state Sen. Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), said the House wasn't sharing the legislation with them until next week.
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