Senator Outlines Plan to Merge Medical and Adult‑Use Cannabis Programs, Limit Home Grow and Add Public‑safety Rules in Senate Bill 56

Senate Bill 56, presented to the House Judiciary Committee by Senator Huffman, would consolidate Ohio's medical and adult‑use marijuana programs under the Division of Cannabis Control and add several public‑safety and regulatory provisions, the senator told the committee in a first hearing.

"The bill merges Ohio's medical and adult use marijuana programs under the division of cannabis control," Huffman said, adding the goal is consistent testing, packaging, labeling and advertising standards and streamlined licensing and compliance procedures. The bill also would preserve licenses already issued under Issue 2, require protections such as a ban on public smoking and driving while a driver or passenger is using marijuana, and limit home cultivation to six plants per household. Huffman said the Senate version keeps a 10% excise tax and that expungement language would allow people convicted of minor marijuana possession to seek expungement on application to the court.

Committee members pressed the sponsor on tax distribution to local governments. Representative Callender and others asked whether localities that allowed dispensaries would lose a promised share of revenue; Huffman said the Department of Taxation currently lacks an authorizing mechanism to distribute the revenue and that the General Assembly will need to define percentages and timing going forward.

Huffman also said the Senate split marijuana and hemp into two bills (including a separate hemp bill) and said he would work with House sponsors to reconcile differences and seek action before July 1. The committee completed the bill's first hearing with sponsor testimony and committee questions; no committee vote was recorded in the transcript.