The Democrat and Libertarian candidates in Ohio’s governor’s race have indicated that, if elected, they would keep the state’s voter-approved adult-use cannabis law intact, Cleveland.com reports. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee, and Don Kissick, the Libertarian, both said they would keep the reforms in place, including the 10% cannabis tax, and backed maintaining some form of legal access to intoxicating hemp products. The Republican nominee, Vivek Ramaswamy, did not respond to the questionnaire from the news outlets regarding his policy positions on the cannabis and hemp laws. 

Addie Bullock, Acton’s campaign spokeswoman, in a statement told Cleveland.com that the Democrat would “respect the clear will of the voters and ensure that Ohio adults 21 and older can safely make their own decisions” and would be “vigilant about legislative attempts to recriminalize elements of recreational marijuana use that Ohioans voted for on Issue 2.”  

Kissick told Cleveland.com that “Ohio voters made their decision in 2023, and the government should respect that decision rather than repeatedly searching for ways to override it.” He added that he would seek to change state law to allow cannabis impaired driving convictions only if prosecutors prove drivers were actually impaired, rather than allowing convictions based solely on THC levels in blood or urine tests. The Libertarian indicated he would also consider lowering the 10% tax “once the state’s legitimate administrative and regulatory costs are covered.” 

Kissick also said he backed an age limit of 21 for intoxicating hemp products, marketing rules for the products, and “reasonable serving and package limits.” 

While Ramaswamy did not respond to the questionnaire, in a 2023 statement to FOX News, Ramaswamy indicated support for ending the federal prohibition of cannabis; however, he also voted against adult-use legalization in Ohio, saying on CNN that it was “an abandonment of the rule of law” and “creates a lot of confusion.”  

According to the Cook Political Report, the race is a toss-up between Acton and Ramaswamy. 

Ganjapreneur: Offering daily insights since 2014, the leading digital business journal for cannabis industry professionals. Subscribe to the newsletter to join our community of over 40,000 ganjapreneurs.

Source link

HB 513, one of the bills that may be a slight break for vape sellers, has passed. Described as a “tax deduction for cigarette wholesalers when retailers fail to pay”, this may be one of the few pieces of legislation that doesn’t leave vapers unhappy with the law. 

Recap: What does this bill do?

As stated above, the majority of the bill focuses on taxes and how to cope with debts from uncollected tobacco taxes. Ohio is one of the states that taxes e liquids at a fairly high rate – 10 cents per milliliter of juice. That tax adds up quickly, and with a tax that high, there is incentive to start finding ways around the tax. One way that may have been done is through lack of clarity as to who pays the tax. When e liquid is sold from wholesale to retailers, there should be tax collected, but with lack of communication, it may not be clear who is responsible for this large tax.

Most of the bill deals with how to handle those taxes, particularly if they have not been paid. However, the taxation part is not the part that concerns vapers – it is the part of HB513 described by Ohio Capital Journal as “A late amendment tacked on prohibitions for local tobacco regulations.” The relevant parts of the bill are as follows:

“No political subdivision may enact, adopt, renew, maintain, enforce, or continue in existence any charter provision, ordinance, resolution, rule, or other measure that conflicts with or preempts any policy of the state regarding the regulation of tobacco products or alternative nicotine products.”

What happens now?

The reason this HB513 was referred to as a preemption bill was because the bill prevents any regulations that are more stringent than state tobacco laws from taking precedence. Currently, there are two main cities that would come into conflict with this bill. Since HB513 is a state law and the others are city laws, state law would take precedence over the bans. The fact that HB513 conflicts with those laws is what attracted attention in the first place. 

Columbus is a city in Ohio that has banned all flavored tobacco products –  a ban that is stricter than the FDA allowed products. Columbus’s ban was set to start in January 2024, but is likely not to come into effect due to the passing of HB513. Toledo is another city that has a ban on flavored cartridges. That ban is also in conflict with HB513. 

Though law and its application are two different things, HB513 passing is one of the more positive pieces of legislation concerning vapers for a long time.

References: 

What will DeWine sign? Lawmakers passed more than 30 bills on last day of session

Source link

Source link