FOREST PARK, Ohio — Puff, puff, passed.
Starting Dec. 7, adults 21 and older in Ohio can legally possess, purchase and share up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis.
There are some caveats and limitations to this new law, including:
- You can't use marijuana in public
- You can't operate a vehicle while under the influence of marijuana
- You can't be a passenger of a vehicle and use marijuana at the same time
- Landlords and employers are able to still prohibit marijuana use
King City Gardens in Forest Park is currently the only craft cannabis cultivation facility in Hamilton County. The facility currently grows medical cannabis.
“It’s going to give us the ability to expand our footprint three or four times, overnight,” said Caveh Azadeh, co-founder of King City Gardens.
The facility, which was projected to provide 100 jobs, is now expected to staff 400 people following the passage of Issue 2.
That is welcome news to the city of Forest Park.
City Manager Don Jones said the city has been waiting for yesterday’s vote. Forest Park decriminalized marijuana possession last year, and the council made zoning changes to allow for growing facilities and dispensaries.
The locations for those zoning changes were designed to minimize any potential disruptions to schools and neighborhoods, Jones said.
“We see this as an opportunity to grow our workforce, provide jobs for our community and to get ahead of probably the rest of Ohio,” Jones said.
But legalization is not a done deal, said Scott Milburn, spokesperson for Protect Ohio Workers and Families.
The passage of Issue 1 was not a surprise, Milburn said.
“The fight really now moves to the Statehouse,” he said.
The measure voters passed was statutory, not constitutional. That means lawmakers can still change aspects of the law.
The tax rate is one thing that will be looked at. Issue 2 included a 10% before sales tax, which is one of the lowest in the country.
“It's one thing to legalize marijuana, and it's another thing to give special handouts to a few big marijuana companies and leave Ohio ones holding the bag,” Milburn said.
Milburn called it a bad deal for Ohio.
“The General Assembly needs to fix it, and there's an indication they will," he said.
Milburn pointed to the allocation of the tax revenue as another place where he’d like to see lawmakers make changes. Currently, a portion of the revenue goes back to individuals with a prior marijuana-related conviction to set up their own marijuana business.
“There’s a lot of problems here that need to be tightened up, and hopefully they will be,” Milburn said.
However, growers like Azadeh are urging lawmakers to accept that voters gave the current provisions the green light.
“People need to abide by what was in black and white,” he said.
While the measure goes into effect in 30 days, non-medical cannabis will not immediately be available to purchase in dispensaries, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce.
The department will now create a new division that will oversee the rule-making and licensing process for non-medical cannabis. The ballot states the department has nine months for that process, though any changes lawmakers make to the text could impact that timeline.
“Individuals are not allowed to purchase marijuana in other states and bring it into Ohio,” the department said in a statement Tuesday. “Federal law prohibits traveling across state lines with marijuana.”
