2y ago

Ohio Senate Republicans propose banning home grown marijuana and other changes to legal marijuana

www.pbs.org

Banning marijuana growing at home, increasing the substance’s tax rate and altering how those taxes get distributed are among vast changes Ohio Senate Republicans proposed Monday to a marijuana legalization measure approved by voters last month.

The changes emerged suddenly in committee just days before the new law is set to take effect, though their fate in the full Senate and the GOP-led House is still unclear.

The ballot measure, dubbed Issue 2, passed on the Nov. 7 election with 57 percent of the vote and it set to become law this Thursday, making Ohio the 24th state to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. But as a citizen-initiated statute, the Legislature is free to make tweaks on it, of which they’re attempting plenty.

102 comments

Politicians really hate democracy....
Even in States where they get ballot initiatives, the politicians are always wanting to change the shit voters initiate and approve
- And they have the public so disenfranchised that the public'll just go "fucking politicians" and move on with their lives instead of grabbing the torch and pitchforks and showing these assholes what accountability for politicians used to look like in the old days. Perhaps show them why we don't play by those rules anymore and why they shouldn't inspire the public to continue playing by those old rules.
  Note: I am euphemistically edging towards tar and feathering more so than anything else. Anything nonlethal but severe in nature and consequence, that sort of thing.
  
  Note: I am euphemistically edging towards tar and feathering more so than anything else. Anything nonlethal but severe in nature and consequence, that sort of thing
  FYI, having boiling tar painted on someone's body resulted in death the vast majority of the time, either immediately or days/weeks later after excruiting pain.
  It's just on TV it's portrayed as a funny thing that happens to scoundrels who are completely fine even immediately after it happened.
  
  Long ago, we decided that gathering to issue a formal redress of our grievances was an acceptable alternative to simply breaking down our ruler's front doors and beating them to death in front of their families. These Republicans really want to go back to those days.
- Which politicians? Don't use a vague term and "both sides" this.
  
  Well, America elected FDR about 80 years ago mostly because he was going to do universal healthcare...
  Politicians from both parties told him they needed another couple years to crunch the numbers. The compromise was Social Security, but they added the income cap and told FDR his next term they'd expand it
  BTW: that cap is why Social Security is habitually underfunded.
  In FDRs second term, they told him the same thing. Then changed the rules so he couldn't get a third.
  And today, 80+ years later, the president of America (who is a Democrat) and all the people in leadership positions for Dems are still saying it's too soon and we need to wait a few more years.
  If you're tired of people criticizing politicians from their own party, how about you go to the party where its tradition to never do that?
  Because if neither of the only two options are willing to do that, we're all fucked.
  So I'm going to keep pointing out how "not a Republican" isn't what we have to fucking settle for. Even if that is true in the 2024 presidential election.
- Huh, I’ve got a weird sense of déjà vu
  
  Now my deja vu has a sense of deja vu...
  
  Yeah, lots of "moderate" Dems get really shitty when people point out that voters can want more than a D by someone's name.
  That's the type of attitude that brought us the modern Republican party lead by trump. Republicans don't care how bad he is, just about the letter by his name.
I wanna be happy and do my own thing that doesn’t impact anyone else on earth
Republicans: NOOOOOO!!!!!
- When Canada legalized pot in 2018 it gave provinces the ability to remove home cultivation from the rules. So Manitoba, Quebec and Nunavut did just that.
  We have shit areas just like America does, often led by right-wing nut jobs.
  
  You Canadians do a bang-up job hiding your conservatives from international news. Most people outside of Canada think all Canadians are lovely people who want to give you a hug, and some maple syrup.
  Only one of those things is true. 🤭
Republicans really hate democracy…
Even in States where they get ballot initiatives, the Republicans are always wanting to change the shit voters initiate and approve
- Huh, I’ve got a weird sense of déjà vu
  
  Doubt they're the same person, I think he copied what the other guy wrote and changed it from politician to republican
  What you said though made me laugh my ass off when I saw it
Republicans claim to be pro state's rights and pro small government. Weird how their actions always seem to be contrary to this philosophy...
- After living to midlife, I conclude the more rightwing you are, the more dishonest you are.
  
  Also: "You'll become more conservative as you age!"
  Biggest fucking lie I've ever heard. I'm glad I remain functionally sane to this day.
  
  That’s a really smart assessment.
I fucking called it. Seriously, I have a comment on here from the day after the vote complaining about how the bill was still open to being edited after we voted on it and I called the they would remove the home growing part.
- That was absolutely what happened in California. Michigan got it right, I wish the pro-legalization groups would leverage the rivalry between OSU and Michigan to get the conservatives who are obsessed with it to get their heads out of their asses.
- The thing is, we tried to pass legization as a constitutional amendment several times in past years and it always failed.
  
  It was tried once with Issue 3 and it was a terrible proposal that would have restricted the marijuana market to specific investors and enshrined that language in the constitution so it would only be changeable with another amendment.
How freedom of them
The party of small government
Yeah, fuck the replikkkans and their shady bullshit. If everyone voted there wouldn't be a single one of them in a position of power.
- ohio is scary as fuck outside of the cities its not okay out there most homicidal state
  
  Most? No. 7th in total 21st in per population. Now if we talk about gerrymandering, I question if there's a more gerrymandered state.
- It's not just republicans.
  It's illegal to grow your own weed in Illinois recreationally.
I can't really abide letting companies(which is people but with money and capital) grow a plant I'm not allowed to grow. That just feels like flexing control of prices and picking who gets it.
The tax bit is a totally fair concern, and is the proper avenue of "who gets it?" I should think the taxes be directly relevant to the subject, so research funding and addiction therapy seems appropriate. I would like to see what people are doing explicitly for fun fund things that people in need should be getting. That'd be better funding for homeless programs, grocery subsidizing(broad category, no specific industry), and healthcare.
I for one would buy up lots of weed to know I'm feeling good for contributing to those things to get what I like.
- I gotta say, I've never heard of flower with over 50% THC or an extract that wasn't specifically trying to be 100%. It's like they actually don't know what they're talking about.
  
  Narrator: "They don't."
- If nothing is sold, what is there to tax?
  
  Property is a huge one that should be taxed more. If you own property, you're preventing other people from utilizing it, so it should be taxed in proportion to its value yearly. If you don't utilize it maximally, the cost of taxes will outweigh its ownership and you'll be pushed to sell it to someone who will utilize it better (or you just eat the cost). It's drive down hoarding of houses and leaving apartments unfilled, which would drive down the cost as landlords attempt to fill them maximally.
- I disagree, there deffo should be some licensing on who exactly is able to produce mind altering substances just to guarantee the the brew is clean.
  
  Only if they're selling it.
  
  Guess you're against homebrew beer, wine, and meade too?
  While you're at at, you should also propose bans on privately grown tobacco and coffee too.
  These are all mind altering substances.
Gaah. Not allowing grow is the biggest bs in the illinois "legalization"
- How can they enforce ot?
  
  In Illinois, you can grow up to five plants for personal use if you have a medical card. However, medical cards in Illinois are only provided to people who suffer from a condition on a fairly limited list. Definitely not as easy to get a medical card here as it is in, say, California.
  If you don't have a medical card, and you're caught with up to five plants, it's a "violation" (citation), with a maximum fine of $200 and no jail time. Over five plants is a felony, with increasingly higher jail and fines. Read between the lines here, and they're not going to be looking for people with up to five plants for personal use at all.
  These penalties exist in order to prevent trafficking, which I think is a good thing. Legal weed in Illinois is not terribly expensive, and you can have confidence in the quality, that it's not adulterated, and that the money you spend on it isn't filtering down to criminal organizations.
Home grow is a really important check against taxes and prices that are too high.
In MA, you can legally give away up to an ounce, grow 6 plants per person and 12 per household. Prices at dispensaries are still too high in my opinion, and taxes are still to high, so I don't go to them. Plus, home growing is a fun hobby once you get it going right, doesn't take much to cover personal use for most people.
Don't underestimate how important home grow is to the overall legalization picture. Vote accordingly Ohioans and make sure to talk to plenty of media, answer polls, and notify your representative that this is an issue you will be getting out to vote for. Pay attention to elections for your representative in the state legislature.
- Nice! Where is that btw? Last time I tried to buy flower from a dispensary in MA, max I could buy was an 8th at a time and when taxes were added it was 70$. Nooope.
  I'd guess the prices dropping is partially due to all the competition in the market now, but also to the prevalence of home grows. Would be interesting to compare some data with a state that doesn't allow home grows.
How about we ban Ohio state republicans from living?
Freedom is where corporations have more rights than you.
I think these legislators need to be recalled for circumventing the will of their constituents.
I think even pot-smoking conservatives will still vote Republican. Conservatives reliably vote for conservatives against their own interests.
- BUT THINK OF THE UNBORN BABIES
  
  I am how else am I supposed to get my baby back ribs. Im banned from going near maternity wards after the incident!
  Bunch of fucken hypocritical assholes. When other people eat baby back ribs its "A good BBQ" meanwhile when I do it its "A crime against humanity" and im a "Cannibalistic monster".
Fuck you, GOP. Go inhale superglue.
They almost let people get access to something that would bring them happiness, by doing nothing. But no, let’s be good republicans and fight to make others’ lives a bit worse instead of doing the small government thing and leave them alone.
In other words they want more money to steal it doesn't matter if it's of marijuana or another things.
WA state messed up
edibles
delivery
do not be like WA state.
- As a Washingtonian I endorse this message.
How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?
- Gawd this is picturesque!
Christ
- You said it Chief.
What is the argument they offer in favor of this? Surely they don't just openly admit that it's about taxes?
The party of small government and personal responsibility ladies and gentlemen.

102 comments