COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio lawmakers are poised to ban all "intoxicating" hemp products this week under a deal shared with News 5 as a two-year-long debate over THC policy is set to come to an end.
A tentative deal between the Ohio House and Senate has been reached on marijuana and hemp policy, but it’s not one that Rep. Tex Fischer (R-Boardman) supports.
"I am as frustrated and disappointed as anybody, given how much time and effort and capital I've spent on this, to be looking at potentially getting nothing is very frustrating," he said.
Fischer was on the small conference committee to deal with Senate Bill 56, the vehicle for all THC policy.
The House has been protecting access to THC, but Fischer said they are losing the battle. In a sneak peek at the legislation expected to be passed this week, he explained that all “intoxicating” hemp, low-level THC, products would be banned in Ohio. This includes THC beverages.
"That's the biggest point of contention right now," he said. "I think it's pretty clear these drinks, as they stand today, are not causing a problem."
There would be an off-ramp for sellers to adjust to the ban, but it's not enough, he said.
The House lost leverage in regulating the product due to the federal government banning hemp, the lawmaker said.
When voting to open the government, policymakers closed a loophole created in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for low-level THC products to be sold without regulation.
Congress’s Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) allowed for hemp products to be sold as long as they have .3% THC or less. U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued guidance on their website that under the law, the Drug Enforcement Administration no longer has the authority to seize and criminalize sending or buying seeds with less than .3% THC. In 2019, Ohio legalized the product, as well.
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Fischer has spoken with some members of Ohio's congressional delegation about rescinding the hemp ban and is hopeful that representatives will address it within the next six months.
"I would say, given the circumstances, there was so much interest in getting the shutdown over with from everybody involved," he said. "As a lawmaker, there are some times you just want to get it over with and then deal with it later."
Upset and still fighting for hemp, state Rep Jamie Callender (R-Concord) said that, at least on the marijuana side, the House got a lot of its priorities.
RELATED: Marijuana wins while hemp loses in Ohio House's passed bipartisan bill
"It would guarantee that we have the six plants per person and 12 per household that the people voted on," Callender said.
Along with protecting access to THC levels, it finally gives cities with dispensaries a part of the tax revenue from sales. It' not in the legislation yet, but it is expected to also provide money for filing fees in the expungement process for low-level marijuana offenses. But Callender is upset with some legal aspects of it.
"If you are a license holder, medical card holder, or you're known to visit dispensaries ... that would be probable cause to stop you and to search you," Callender said. "I have a problem with that."
The House has been standing up to the Senate for years on marijuana and hemp, so I asked Fischer why they aren’t fighting back anymore.
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"It is difficult when you have just a fundamentally different opinion on all of this stuff," Fischer said, adding that he didn't realize the Senate's negative opinion of the THC drinks.
"Do you think that the hemp sellers could see you as caving if you go through with this proposal as it stands?" I asked Fischer.
"They might," he replied. "There's going to have to be a lot of give and take."
But now, he’s in a last-ditch effort to take a little more for his side.
The bill is expected to be introduced and voted on Wednesday.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
