Ohio residents may be happy to learn that a Republican lawmaker is pushing for recreational marijuana legislation.
“As a society, we’ve reached a point where it’s not the taboo thing it used to be,” said state Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord.
The forthcoming bill is sponsored by Callender and Ron Ferguson of Wintersville and is similar to other proposals in that it would build on the state’s existing medical marijuana program.
Callender hopes fellow lawmakers will favor his bill over an industry-backed effort to pass a law through the ballot box.
In a recent interview Callender said that current medical marijuana cultivators, processors and dispensary owners would be allowed to operate on the recreational side. Adults age 21 and older could buy, possess and grow marijuana.
The bill also would offer a way for Ohioans convicted of marijuana crimes eliminated in the bill to have their records sealed or expunged.
Callender says “three or four” Republicans support his bill, while legislative leaders and Gov. Mike DeWine do not.
Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said recently he’s opposed to legalization.
“I was opposed to it when it was on the ballot,” Huffman told USA TODAY Network Ohio in August, referring to an unsuccessful 2015 constitutional amendment. “I am opposed to it now.”
“We all know our economy is kind of precarious right now, and we’re not sure where we’re going, and having that extra funding going into the general revenue fund would give the legislature more financial flexibility,” Callender said.
Callender’s bill calls for a 10% tax that would be applied to recreational marijuana sales, with half of proceeds going to the state’s general revenue fund and the other half split between law enforcement and mental health and addiction treatment.
Ohio adults could possess up to 5 ounces of marijuana and could grow a small number of marijuana plants at home says the draft legislation.
