High time for a change: Unpacking Ohio’s Issue 2

Graphics created by Jack Slemenda

The legalization of marijuana in the state of Ohio is covered by Issue 2 on November’s ballot. Issue 2 is a proposed law by initiative petition requiring a majority yes vote for passage. The issue would enact Chapter 3780 of the Ohio Revised Code and would “legalize and regulate the cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession, home grow, and use of cannabis by adults at least twenty-one years of age,” according to the text of the issue.

According to the Associated Press, Issue 2 proposes the legalization of cannabis for adults over 21. Adults would be legally permitted to buy, grow, or possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis. Adults would also be able to possess up to 15 grams of cannabis extract and six cannabis plants, or up to 12 plants per home with at least two adults in the household.

Issue 2 would also create protections for individuals who use cannabis legally, authorize a division to regulate operators and laboratories for adult cannabis use, and establish a cannabis social equity and jobs program. The issue would allow landlords or employers to prohibit cannabis use in certain circumstances, along with prohibiting driving under the influence. 

Another portion of Issue 2 discusses an agreement with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to create a program for cannabis addiction services, along with creating five funds in the state treasury including the adult use tax fund, the cannabis social equity and jobs fund, the host community cannabis fund, the substance abuse and addiction fund, and the division of cannabis control and tax commissioner fund. 

Issue 2 would implement a 10% tax on cannabis purchases. According to the Associated Press, the tax would provide funding for communities with dispensaries, along with addiction treatment programs, social equity and jobs. 

The “Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol,” who petitioned the issue, argued that the 10% tax, which would be enforced in addition to existing state and local sales taxes, could also fund public safety and road improvements. They asserted that the tax would allow the government invest in communities that have historically been disproportionately impacted by Ohio’s marijuana policy. 

According to the attorney general, Issue 2 would not “repeal the existing criminal prohibitions against marijuana cultivation use under O.R.C. 2925, but does create protections against arrest and prosecution if you follow the new rules it creates,” before adding that “the state’s current medical marijuana program would remain intact if issue 2 is passed.” 

As it stands, marijuana is legal in Ohio for exclusively medical use. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2022 decriminalized marijuana on a federal level. In Ohio, marijuana is illegal for recreational use, although it was decriminalized in 1975. According to norml.org, Possession of marijuana in Ohio is a misdemeanor, only reaching felony status if the amount is over 200 grams. The penalties, incarceration or fines, increase as the amount in someone’s possession increases. 

In terms of the distribution of marijuana, a first or second offense of selling 20 grams or less is a misdemeanor, while anything beyond that is a felony with marginally harsher sentences than simple possession charges. 

According to ohiostatecannabis.org, medical marijuana, purchased from a designated facility, is allowed for qualifying individuals age 18 or older. Still, smoking in public is a crime, although “inhalation of medical marijuana is permitted through the use of a vaporizing device.” To qualify for the use of medical marijuana, patients must be registered in Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program.

After being registered in the Ohio Medical Marijuana Patient and Caregiver Registry, a patient may visit a dispensary with a “certificate of operation from the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy.” A patient must apply for a medical marijuana card and pay the associated fee. Essentially, a patient needs a kind of prescription to acquire medical marijuana.

In 2015, the legalization of recreational marijuana was on the ballot in Ohio. However, it was defeated by a 65-35 margin. Former Governor John Kasich legalized medical use of cannabis in 2016 by signing House Bill 523, which outlined a process for state run or licensed dispensaries and growing facilities, according to the Toledo Blade.

According to Ohiostatecannabis.org, Senate Bill 57 made hemp-derived products legal to sell in Ohio as long as they contain less than .3% THC, and likewise legalized hemp-derived CBD oil containing less than 3% of THC. The sale of other THC products in Ohio is in large part because these derivatives are proliferating beyond what has been legislated, being found in gas stations and smoke shops across Ohio despite their arguably questionable safety, regulation, and legality. Products like this often require the customer to be at least 21 and are typically meant to be smoked, vaped, or eaten. 

According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF), cannabinoids are substances that produce similar effects to cannabis by joining to the same chemical receptor in the brain. Cannabinoids can be categorized as recreational, medicinal, or synthetic. While a cannabis plant produces countless chemicals, the two main cannabinoids are delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). WebMD states that THC is known to have psychoactive effects (getting the consumer “high), while CBD is not impairing, according to the CDC.

According to Pathology professors Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti at the University of South Carolina, “These days you see signs for delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC and CBD, or cannabidiol, everywhere – at gas stations, convenience stores, vape shops and online.” The article goes on to say that delta-8 and delta-10 THC emerged after delta-9 THC and CBD products were discovered and became popular, leading manufacturers to attempt to derive other forms of cannabinoids from CBD.

“The chemical difference between delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10 THC is the position of a double bond on the chain of carbon atoms they structurally share. Delta-8 has this double bond on the eighth carbon atom of the chain, delta-9 on the ninth carbon atom, and delta-10 on the 10th carbon atom. These minor differences cause them to exert different levels of psychoactive effects,” the professors state. 

According to the FDA, many such products have not yet been approved for safe use. The FDA cited concerns with the reported “high” experienced by consumers, the variety of THC concentrations and formulations and the way such products are marketed. In terms of the variety of concentrations found in delta-8 THC products, the FDA states that the products likely contain more THC than what naturally occurs in hemp, indicating that previous experience with cannabis use is unreliable when determining how much of a delta-8 product is safe for someone to consume. Additional chemicals are added to convert other cannabinoids in hemp into delta-8, a process known as synthetic conversion. The FDA cites concerns with this process due to the lack of control or regulation, allowing for the introduction of contaminants.

“Selling unapproved products with unsubstantiated therapeutic claims is not only a violation of federal law, but also can put consumers at risk…This deceptive marketing of unproven treatments raises significant public health concerns because patients and other consumers may use them instead of approved therapies to treat serious and even fatal diseases,” reads an article on the FDA website. The article then listed adverse events that have been reported with the ingestion of delta-8 THC, including hallucinations, vomiting, tremors, anxiety, dizziness, confusion, and loss of consciousness.

By legalizing recreational marijuana with Issue 2, restrictions and regulations on the production and acquisition of marijuana could improve safe access to cannabis products. The legality of marijuana might allow for the use of traditional, standard cannabis to become more popular than the current, chemically processed derivatives. The outcome of the November election will determine how cannabis use will evolve in the state of Ohio.