Explaining that he wants to “start the discussion” about recreational marijuana in Ohio, a state representative has drafted a bill that would repeal key portions of Issue 2, the recently passed ballot initiative that legalizes cannabis use and home grow.
State Rep. Gary Click, who represents Sandusky and Seneca counties, introduced a bill this week that would, among other things, remove all of Issue 2’s language regarding cities’ powers over dispensaries in their borders and replace it with new rules to be determined later. Issue 2, which voters passed in November by 57% to 43%, proposed to “regulate marijuana like alcohol,” meaning in part that cities could control where dispensaries can operate — or even prohibit them — but can’t make recreational cannabis use illegal on private property.
Click, who opposed Issue 2, insists that letting cities ban cannabis use is not his intent.
“There’s no one in the legislature that I know of that wants to do that,” he said in an interview with Signal Cleveland. “We heard the voice of the people,” he added, referring to the November vote.
But now Click wants to hear from people in hearings, a normal part of the legislative process when the state House and Senate write bills. Issue 2 was a citizen-initiated ballot measure, a process that bypasses the legislature. Nineteen states had passed similar legislation before Ohio, including Michigan.
But because Issue 2 is a statute and not a constitutional amendment like Issue 1, lawmakers in Columbus can make changes to it.
“On the ballot, [voters] had a binary choice, yes or no, they didn’t get a chance to get into the nuance or into the weeds,” he said. Hearings will provide that, as well as consideration of unintended consequences, he said.
Click said his priority is how Issue 2 allocates the tax revenue that sales will eventually generate for the state. (The law gives the Ohio Department of Commerce nine months to create the rules and regulations for sales and to distribute licenses.)
Click’s bill maintains two of the intended recipients (the cannabis social equity and jobs fund and the host community cannabis fund); and expands the scope of the substance abuse fund to include research and education. That, he said, is his top concern.
“The tax structure [in the bill] is to make sure that we have something in place to help those who may be harmed by this industry rather than helped by it,” he said. His father died from addiction, he said, and another family member struggles with it.
The bill also adds a new category for tax revenue spending, a “law enforcement cannabis training fund.” Along with the addition of this fund, Click proposes reallocating the tax revenue. All funds would receive about 19% of the total revenue, less than Issue 2’s allocations.
Click said it seemed unlikely that hearings on his bill would begin before the end of the year, but couldn’t rule it out. Issue 2 takes effect on Dec. 7.