COLUMBUS, Ohio — Marijuana may be available to buy in mid-June, significantly earlier than anticipated, due to actions from Ohio’s rulemaking committee, their weed-enthusiast chairperson exclusively told News 5.
Despite Ohioans voting to legalize recreational marijuana 57-43% in November, there is nowhere to buy it in the state legally.
The passage of Issue 2 allowed adults 21 years of age and older to smoke, vape and ingest weed. Individual Ohioans are able to grow up to six plants but up to 12 per household. Click here to learn more about what the law entails.
Per Issue 2, the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) wasn't set to start processing retailer applications until June. The governor and lawmakers initially predicted that weed would not be able to be bought legally until late summer or fall.
But, due to the DCC working quickly, the drug may be available in just two months.
The Joint Committee On Agency Rule Review (JCARR) plans to accept proposed regulations from the DCC, according to state Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord), the chairperson.
“We could have retailers, recreational licensed retailers, in Ohio by mid-June,” Callender said. "We should begin to see legal recreational sales of marijuana in Ohio certainly before July 4th weekend."
Only one aspect of the rules is expected to be accepted during the next JCARR meeting on May 13 — dual licensing.
"The distribution of retail sites — they are already in existence for medical — will be able to get a dual license," Callender said. "The application will be available, absent a problem in JCARR, which I don't anticipate, prior to June 7th."
The application process will be easy to become a dual facility since medical dispensaries already have a strenuous licensure process, Callender said. The applications could be approved in a week, he said.
This should alleviate the squabbling between Republicans. There are two ways that marijuana would be able to be sold legally. Issue 2 set it so that the administration would make the guidelines, but the faster way would have been through legislative action.
The House and the Senate both proposed ideas, and their leaders have been arguing about whose policy is better for the state, which in turn has kept marijuana off the shelves despite being legalized five months ago.
RELATED: Republican squabbling keeps marijuana off shelves months after legalization
The Senate passed a proposal in December to allow medical dispensaries to sell recreationally immediately. However, it 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. Gov. Mike DeWine has urged its passage by the House.
"People will be getting it from many sources, none of them legally," DeWine said over the winter. "The consumption will go up. People will be able to use it but they won't be able to legally buy it. We do not need an expanding black market."
The House has refused to touch it, saying the other chamber is going against the "will of the people," with Callender being the leading voice of that sentiment. He has his own bill, H.B. 354, that is very similar to current law but does add some safeguards for advertising and children.
The House has always supported having medical shops sell immediately but refused to budge on the other provisions.
"The House is being deliberative," House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) told News 5 in Dec. "It is important to our members that they listen to the people."
See the back-and-forth between the chambers by CLICKING HERE.
The Senate and DeWine have been frustrated with the House for the delay.
"We kind of hustled around, as you know, the first 30 days of December and put out what we thought was a product that addressed some of the immediate issues," Huffman told reporters in late March.
Callender says this is the best of the situation.
"There's a lot of other issues around the marijuana market and industry that may need to be looked at, but this will give the governor and the Senate the immediacy that they were looking for," he said. "It takes one of the issues off the table successfully."
The other rules, such as advertising limits and packaging for child safety, will trickle in after, he added. This is just the first step in helping out Ohioans. It also, seemingly, gets the individuals who are yelling at the House off the chamber's back.
JCARR is made up of five representatives and five senators. Callender is confident there will be no roadblocks despite the Senate's annoyance at the House. The lawmaker believes everyone from the House will approve, and at least the Democrats in the Senate will, as well — making it 7-3.
News 5 reached out to co-chair state Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) but has not heard back. However, Callender said he hasn't spoken to state Sen. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), who has become the spokesperson for marijuana in the Senate. He did add that McColley has been supportive, yet skeptical of the timeliness of Callender's plan when they talked back in 2023.
"This doesn't mean there's not going to be legislation, I think we're still going to be negotiating with the Senate," Callender added. "I expect those discussions to restart here very soon, but we're taking a lot of the issues off the table because they're being dealt with through rule."
There will be more details in the JCARR meeting in May, he said.
"In these really contentious times politically, it's kind of nice to see the system actually working for the people — the way that people wanted it to," he said, smiling. "I'm kind of proud that I played some role in helping make sure the will of the voters is occurring and occurring promptly."
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