COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Republicans have introduced a new bill that would regulate low-level THC products such as delta-8, which is purchasable by anyone regardless of age, including children, at gas stations and convenience stores.
Delta-8 is a cannabinoid produced from the cannabis plant, often manufactured from CBD. Many users I spoke to used this "adult-use hemp" to help with health issues or chronic illnesses. Delta-9 THC is the most common and is considered as regular marijuana.
Retailers like Joel Fink, owner of Fantasy Candies Chocolate Factory and Blue Planet Chocolate, say it is a "wonderful product." He is also a hemp processor.
"I would say we probably have about 20-25 per day that come in that are looking for, not necessarily a delta-8 or delta-9, but something to help them out," Fink said. "It's just amazing some of the successes that we've had."
Fink has age requirements for entering his specific store, but when the products go out to other stores, they may not.
"You can find products, like what we manufacture, in convenience stores and gas stations, in vape shops — places like that," he said.
Congress’ Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 allowed for hemp products to be sold as long as they have .3% THC or less.
"Delta-8 is sort of like delta-9 light," Fink said. "It gets you about half to two-thirds as high."
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. The DEA has also given this statement to numerous attorneys around the country with the same advice, including specifically addressing cannabis. This could change soon, though.
Gov. Mike DeWine has been asking state lawmakers to crack down on it for months now.
In fact, he and the Department of Public Safety did an "undercover sting operation" with teenagers to prove that the drug was easily accessible.
RELATED: Gov. DeWine calls on lawmakers to ban or regulate delta-8 products
State Rep. Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) has taken the governor's call.
"I'm just trying to keep the scary stuff — scary to me and a lot of parents — away from children," Carruthers said. "That's what we have to do as adults — protect our kids."
She introduced House Bill 642, which would give power to the Department of Agriculture to create guidelines on the amount of THC allowed per product, the age requirement to buy, where it can be sold and penalties for selling to someone underage. It also would decide on testing standards, advertising restrictions and enforcement policy.
If the bill passes, the department would have 30 days to come up with the policies that would last for a year.
"The rules are temporary so that the issue is being addressed while the General Assembly has time to really go over and thoughtfully craft legislation regarding the regulation of adult use hemp," the lawmaker said.
Fink agreed that age limitations need to be set up but worries that the product will be inaccessible for people who need it — since recreational facilities aren’t open yet.
"If we lost the ability to be able to do delta-8 and some of the other cannabinoids that we work with, it would be devastating to businesses like mine," he said.
Carruthers said she wasn't trying to be "haughty," but is concerned for people who want to get weed from gas stations.
"The fact of the matter is that it would be like buying sushi at a gas station; you just don't do it," she said. "Frankly, the people that are buying those things from gas stations are probably not trying to get a quality product."
She also isn't trying to totally ban it, she said. She just wants the Department of Ag. to review and create policies since they already oversee the hemp program.
Competing bills
The House and the Senate have been in a bitter battle when it comes to marijuana policy.
The Senate has proposed policies to deal with "safety concerns" that the governor has when it comes to weed. In doing so, they would limit home grow, reduce THC levels and ban the vast majority of vapes — among dozens of other restrictions and changes to what the voters chose.
House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) has been blocking it, and dispensaries support him.
"Honoring the will of the voters is very important," Stephens said in late June. "That part has been done — this was passed in November and it's still the law of the land."
The lawmakers in both chambers allegedly agree that they want to put more stringent guidelines on advertising, but they can't agree on the vehicle. The House wants a clean version of a bill — meaning they don't want the Senate to "go against the will of the people," which is what House leaders say the other chamber is doing.
This fight has continued into the hemp debate.
In their most recent move, the Senate proposed S.B. 278, a bill that would prohibit stores from selling delta-8 to people under 21. However, it would also ban all public smoking and vaping — or, as the House calls it, "poison pills" that prevent lawmakers from voting for it. This bill would also require Ohioans who grow their own weed to sign an affidavit that they won't sell their product.
The House is not interested, according to marijuana enthusiast state Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord).
H.B. 642 follows what the voters chose back in Nov. and is a clean bill, Carruthers said. It has no hidden provisions and no impact on regular marijuana.
"It's important that we do it the right way and that the public trusts us. I don't intend to ever fight the will of the people," she added. "But I think you have to make guidelines and make it safe."
The Senate leaders have argued that the citizens didn't actually know what they were voting for, and they don't actually want or need to be able to grow six plants as an individual or up to 12 plants per household.
"If we take away the will of the people, then we have earned all the bad things that they say about politicians," Carruthers argued.
What's next?
The lawmakers aren't set to come back until the fall, but Carruthers says she knows she has enough support to pass the House. She also said the governor was interested.
Recreational marijuana dispensaries should be operating in the next few weeks. Cannabis cultivators have already started to get their licenses to begin producing.
More than 100 dispensaries in Ohio are on their way to selling recreational marijuana. This comes after sales were anticipated to start in June
RELATED: Slow burn — Ohio recreational marijuana dispensaries on way to sales
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