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Ohio Lawmakers Advance Bill To Scale Back Voter-Approved Marijuana Law And Impose Hemp Regulations
Ohio House lawmakers on Tuesday approved an amended Senate-passed bill that would make significant changes to the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law while incorporating a series of regulations for hemp that are meant to align the two sectors of the cannabis industry.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee agreed to changes to the measure from Sen. Stephen Huffman (R) before advancing it to other panels and an expected floor vote on Wednesday. But while certain controversial provisions of the bill as passed by the Senate were scaled back, it would still make major changes to the marijuana law voters approved in 2023.
The measure will now go to the Rules Committee before being re-referred to the Finance Committee, after which point it’s expected to receive floor action.
“We’ve had years of testimony. We’ve heard from marijuana advocates, hemp advocates, public health advocates and everyone in between,” Rep. Brian Stewart (R) said. “We are generally going to take the feedback from the hemp industry, which said, ‘Treat us like marijuana,” he said. “They will have the same potency limitations, the same advertising restrictions, the same restrictions on quantities, serving size and how they operate.”
Rep. Jamie Callender (R), who has led the charge on marijuana policy in the House, said ahead of the vote that the revised bill would be “very thoughtful and targeted.” But at the hearing, he added that the legislation is “not perfect” or what he would have drafted.
“It’s a bill that can get passed that will help us implement some of the elements of Issue 2 that have been held up and give clarity to the rulemakers on some of the points that are outstanding,” he said, referring to the voter-approved legalization measure. “It also clarifies and cements a few of the gains that were gained over the years: Sharing, home grow, no new prosecutions [and] the taxes going to the local governments.”
“We’ve got more work to do. We are not done.”
Under the amended legislation, stores and breweries would be permitted to sell hemp-derived THC beverages, with new advertising restrictions meant to prevent appealing to youth. Products for on-site consumption would be limited to 5 mg of THC, but adults could buy take-home drinks containing up to 10 mg. More potent drinks could also be manufactured in Ohio, but only for sales to people outside the state.
There would be a new $1.20 tax per gallon on hemp beverages created by the bill, and Stewart said it will “create a pathway for legal, regulated, licensed hemp dispensaries.”
“Nobody has ever voted to allow functionally equivalent products to marijuana—hemp products—to be sold in 6,000 plus gas stations and grocery stores around the state,” he said. “And so with this bill, we would say that you can buy intoxicating hemp products in licensed hemp dispensaries. We are not going to have intoxicating hemp available to any establishment that admits persons who are under the age of 21.”
Advocates remain concerned about other marijuana-related provisions of the Senate bill that were left intact. That includes the elimination of language in the current voter-approved law providing anti-discrimination protections for people who lawfully use cannabis and the recriminalization of possessing marijuana from any source that isn’t a state-licensed dispensary.
“It is profoundly disappointing to see the House Judiciary Committee advance legislation to roll back cannabis freedoms and protections that Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved,” Karen O’Keefe, director of states policies at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Marijuana Moment. “The committee substitute would open the door to harassment and interrogation of cannabis consumers by criminalizing any cannabis that wasn’t home grown or obtained from an Ohio retailer. It would also remove protections that prevent responsible cannabis consumers from losing their children, professions, and even their lives for cannabis use.”
The legislation also bans smoking cannabis at outdoor public locations such as bar patios, and it allows landlords to prohibit vaping marijuana at rented homes.
In short, the proposal “continues to gut the voter-enacted law,” O’Keefe said in a letter to Judiciary Committee members ahead of Tuesday’s hearing.
“Please reject this erosion of freedoms enacted by 57 percent of voters,” she said, adding that the legislation as amended “will lead to interrogations over the source of cannabis and arrests over conduct voters legalized.”
“The bill also allows families to be ripped apart, professions lost, and lives destroyed for responsible cannabis use—by repealing voter-enacted protections to prevent such suffering,” she said. “Please remove all language amending Issue 2, or at least slow the process down. Voters and stakeholders deserve a chance to review language before their law is gutted.”
Unlike the Senate-passed version of the legislation, the House substitute will send tax revenue from cannabis sales to local governments.
Rep. Desiree Tims (D) said at the hearing that she still has “concerns about the criminal justice implications” of the substitute bill, inquiring of the sponsor about expungement provisions.
“My number one fear is that we are in the process of legalizing something where a select few will become very, very wealthy, while people continue to suffer from past activities–whether recreational or otherwise—utilizing the very same products that we are allowing people to make a profit off,” she said.
Stewart said the bill does contain a pathway for people with prior cannabis possession convictions to have their records expunged if they proactively petition the courts, and that process would be “expedited,” albeit not automated as is in the case in certain other legal marijuana states.
Members of the committee separately approved an amendment from Rep. Josh Williams (R) to revise the expungement process for eligible past cases by making it incumbent on the state to proactively defend any decision to deny a person’s request to seal their record.
Another lawmaker raised a question about disparate penalties for the sale of hemp or marijuana to minors compared to alcohol, and Stewart replied that the Republican caucus is “comfortable with the penalty being higher for marijuana and intoxicating hemp.”
“I think that’ll probably be a source of continued debate as Ohioans kind of get used to a fairly substantial new landscape here,” he said. “Rightly or wrongly, I still think there is a view that we’re a little more concerned about selling kids weed than Miller Lite.”
Tuesday’s hearing comes weeks after DeWine issued emergency rules prohibiting the sale of intoxicating hemp products for 90 days, with instructions to the legislature to consider permanent regulations. Last week, however, a county judge enjoined the state from enforcing that policy in response to a legal challenge.
“Frankly, the legislature had not taken action,” Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said in an interview published this week. “I’m still hopeful that the legislature will come in and actually take action.”
House Speaker Matt Huffman (R) commented recently on the relative lack of progress in advancing marijuana and hemp legislation since voters approved legalization at the ballot in 2023, noting substantive divides within the Republican caucus.
There are “folks who believe that marijuana should be legalized and regulated,” others “who believe that the hemp products should be on equal standing with everything that happened in the initiated statute and then “folks, like me, who are prohibitionists, who don’t think it should be legalized at all and it should be rare,” he said.
“I would say the prohibitionists have largely lost this discussion.”
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Meanwhile, last month, the Ohio Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) filed new proposed rules to build upon the state’s marijuana legalization law, laying out plans to update regulations on labeling and packaging requirements.
The proposal came weeks after Ohio medical and adult-use marijuana sales officially crossed $3 billion, data from the state Department of Commerce (DOC) shows.
The state sold about $703 million in recreational cannabis in the law’s first year of implementation, according to DCC data.
In March, a survey of 38 municipalities by the Ohio State University’s (OSU) Moritz College of Law found that local leaders were “unequivocally opposed” to earlier proposals that would have stripped the planned funding.
Meanwhile in Ohio, adults as of June are able to buy more than double the amount of marijuana than they were under previous limits, with state officials determining that the market can sustainably supply both medical cannabis patients and adult consumers.
The governor in March separately announced his desire to reallocate marijuana tax revenue to support police training, local jails and behavioral health services. He said funding police training was a top priority, even if that wasn’t included in what voters passed in 2023.
Ohio’s Senate president has also pushed back against criticism of the Senate bill, claiming the legislation does not disrespect the will of the electorate and would have little impact on products available in stores.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
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Author: mscannabiz.com
MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
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Top Rhode Island Marijuana Regulator Steps Down Ahead Of Possible Campaign For Attorney General
“She helped stand up the commission from the ground up and ensured that Rhode Island’s cannabis industry was launched with public health, safety, and fairness as priorities.”
By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Currant
One day after setting the timeline for awarding the state’s two dozen cannabis retail licenses, the state’s top pot industry regulator is stepping down amid expectations she will run for attorney general in 2026.
Kimberly Ahern was set to conclude her tenure as chairperson of the three-member Cannabis Control Commission—a position she has held since the panel was formed in 2023—at the end of the day Tuesday, Gov. Dan McKee (D) announced early Tuesday afternoon.
“Serving the state in this capacity has been a privilege, and I am proud of what we have accomplished in such a short time,” Ahern wrote in her resignation letter submitted Tuesday to the governor. “Rhode Island has approached this new industry with care and purpose.”
Ahern highlighted the commission’s approval of its first set of rules governing the state’s recreational cannabis market, including provisions for screening equity applicants and opening applications for prospective retailers eager to enter the fledgling industry.
“She helped stand up the commission from the ground up and ensured that Rhode Island’s cannabis industry was launched with public health, safety, and fairness as priorities,” McKee said in a statement.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (D) in a separate statement thanked Ahern for “setting a high standard for public service.”
“Her work has positioned the Cannabis [Control] Commission for long-term success as we continue to strengthen this emerging industry,” Shekarchi said.
Senate President Valarie Lawson said Ahern’s decisions on the panel “showed her dedication to fairness and thoughtful regulation.”
“Her contributions will have a lasting impact on Rhode Island’s cannabis program,” Lawson said in a statement.
Ahern’s resignation letter does not state why she stepped down from her $204,069-a-year post, only that she looked forward to “finding new ways to serve the state.”
It is expected that she will enter the Democratic primary to succeed Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha (D), whose term as the state’s top prosecutor ends after 2026. Neronha earns $146,107 a year.
Two other Democrats have already announced their candidacies this fall: State Rep. Jason Knight and Keith Hoffmann, who worked as the chief of policy and senior counsel under Neronha.
State Rep. Robert Craven, a North Kingstown Democrat, was the first to announce a bid for AG, but exited four days later after past allegations of domestic violence were brought to light.
Knight had $90,419 in his campaign account as of the most recent filing from the end of June. Hoffmann’s campaign announced October 6 that his account has raised $210,000 since he entered the race.
Ahern does not yet have a balance listed with the Board of Elections as of Tuesday.
But much like her potential competitors, Ahern too has worked as a state attorney. From 2010 through 2019, she served as a special assistant AG under three attorneys general: Neronha, Peter Kilmartin and Patrick Lynch.
She then went on to serve as deputy counsel for former Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) and went on to become the deputy chief of staff for McKee before her appointment to the Cannabis Control Commission.
McKee’s office confirmed the search for Ahern’s successor has begun. In the meantime, the panel will continue its work under the leadership of Commissioners Layi Oduyingbo and Robert Jacquard.
The commission’s next monthly meeting is scheduled for November 21, but Ahern indicated Monday it could be sooner in order for regulators to approve final certification of prospective social equity applicants.
Day-to-day operations of the commission and the state’s newly established Cannabis Office will continue to be handled by its administrator, Michelle Reddish.
This story was first published by Rhode Island Currant.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
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MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
[PRESS RELEASE] – RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 22, 2025 – CR Wellness announced its international partnership with Cookies to bring the most globally recognized cannabis company to Brazil with the launch of premium cannabis and CBD wellness products.
As the largest and most influential market in South America, Brazil represents a powerful step in Cookies’ growth – it is a country where music, street culture, and community celebration are deeply ingrained in everyday life, perfectly aligning with the spirit of Cookies.
With a presence in more than 30 domestic and eight international markets and thousands of products developed from exclusive cultivars, Cookies is now available in Brazil with a product line that follows the same standards of excellence that made the brand a global icon. All products are lab-tested, certified and fully compliant with Brazilian regulations, ensuring safety and effectiveness for doctors, patients and consumers.
The product line offered in Brazil includes blends developed with high-quality cannabinoids, designed to support health, wellness and quality of life, while maintaining the authenticity and identity that made Cookies a worldwide reference in the industry. Beginning with THC/CBD tinctures and THC gummies, these products are available by prescription only, with more information available here.
By bringing Cookies to Brazil, CR Wellness and its parent company, Biominerales, reinforce their commitment to delivering innovative, safe and science-backed products, expanding access to therapeutic alternatives and driving transformation in health care.
“CR Wellness is excited to introduce Cookies’ renowned cannabinoid-based products to Brazil,” CR Wellness Director Cassio E. Ismael said. “By combining Cookies’ global expertise with CR Wellness’ local knowledge, this partnership delivers premium wellness solutions to a market that embraces health, innovation and community.”
Founded in 2010 by Berner (rapper and entrepreneur) and Jai (renowned California cultivator), Cookies has gained global recognition by combining genetic innovation, premium quality and urban culture, becoming the first cannabis brand to be named one of the “Hottest Brands in America” by AdAge. Cookies is more than a brand; it’s a global movement of quality, innovation and culture, now within reach of Brazilians.
Author: mscannabiz.com
MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
NJ governor candidates on marijuana; OH cannabis & hemp bill advances; PA cannabis regulatory vote; Non-cannabis CBD developed from kitchen spice
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
New House and Senate lobbying reports show that alcohol companies and industry groups are stepping up lobbying efforts around hemp drinks—also detailing how major businesses like DoorDash and PayPal are engaged in cannabis-related congressional advocacy.
As New Jersey voters prepare to elect a new governor, the candidates have contrasting marijuana views—with Republican Jack Ciattarelli calling cannabis a “gateway drug” and Democrat Mikie Sherrill voting for and sponsoring reform legislation in Congress.
The Ohio House Judiciary Committee approved a bill to revise the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law by removing some protections for consumers and to restrict intoxicating hemp products.
The Pennsylvania Senate Law & Justice Committee approved a bill to create a Cannabis Control Board to oversee the existing medical marijuana program and intoxicating hemp products—and which could also regulate the adult-use market if broader legalization is enacted.
Researchers behind a new federally funded study developed a new class of CBD-like compounds using the common kitchen spice caraway seeds—not cannabis—that “not only prevented seizures and reduced seizure-related deaths but also promoted healthier brain cell development.”
The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission approved a timeline for issuing new marijuana dispensary licenses, including to social equity applicants and worker-owned cooperatives.
/ FEDERAL
The White House has paused the nomination process for President Donald Trump’s nomination to be a federal judge in Florida amid his involvement in an ongoing investigation into the alleged misuse of Medicaid funds to campaign against a marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s 2024 ballot.
The U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control held a hearing on Hezbollah’s ties to drug trafficking.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said that the Trump administration’s military strikes against alleged drug boats “go against all our tradition.”
House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) is calling for a hearing on the Trump administration’s military attacks on suspected drug boats.
/ STATES
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) announced that the state’s top cannabis regulator is concluding her tenure.
A caller to Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s (R) radio show was hung up on in the middle of making a point about medical cannabis legislation.
Ohio’s Senate president and House minority leader discussed the prospects for passing hemp legislation.
The Maryland House Ways and Means Committee toured a cannabis processing facility.
A Florida senator hosted a cannabis forum.
A former Delaware judge authored an op-ed about the “risks” of marijuana legalization.
Louisiana regulators adopted changes to medical cannabis rules.
Illinois regulators held a hearing on proposed changes to cannabis rules.
Oklahoma regulators are delaying the launch of a new medical cannabis portal.
Vermont regulators sent a reminder about new hemp product labeling requirements.
Utah regulators sent various updates about the medical cannabis program.
Minnesota regulators will host an information session about cannabis community restoration grants on Thursday.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
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/ LOCAL
San Francisco, California’s mayor said President Donald Trump’s threats to send the National Guard to the city “will do nothing to get fentanyl off the streets or make our city safer.”
A former Fall River, Massachusetts mayor was stabbed near the marijuana dispensary he serves as CEO for.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Brazil’s agrarian development minister pressured Meta to reinstate banned cannabis-related Instagram accounts.
Ten parties running in Netherlands elections support legalizing cannabis.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that “cannabinoids are promising therapeutic targets in the treatment of sepsis, as they improved survival, and reduced inflammation and organ injury.”
A study found that “in a state [medical cannabis] program, barriers related to MC access and cost indicated a significant increase in the likelihood of [illicit medical cannabis] use.”
/ BUSINESS
Organigram Global Inc.s’ outgoing CEO will stay on longer as the company completes an ongoing search for a replacement.
Charlotte’s Web Holdings, Inc. has a new board of directors member.
/ CULTURE
Musician Jelly Roll picked a team in a college football game based on marijuana, saying that “if this came down to the battle of the growers, I’m riding in Michigan, baby… My favorite place to partake in recreational activity in America.”
Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox.
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Author: mscannabiz.com
MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
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