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COLUMBUS — A Republican state Senator who has been instrumental in the legislation that aims to regulate recreational marijuana and intoxicating hemp products said that lawmakers may come to an agreement before Thanksgiving. State Sen. Steve Huffman, chairman of the Senate Health Committee and sponsor of Senate Bill 56, said there may be some sticking points. But he expects legislators will iron out their differences in a conference committee in the coming weeks. He expects he will be among those on the conference committee, which should be appointed soon. “I hope that we can get together and get some resolution in the next couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. That would be my plan, but there’s some differences,” he said. SB 56, which passed the Senate earlier this year, was intended to clarify aspects of the state’s adult-use recreational marijuana laws. After Gov. Mike DeWine declared that he wanted to stop sales of intoxicating hemp products while lawmakers came up with a legislative solution to regulate them, Ohio House Members took quick action. Legislators in the House passed their version of bill two weeks ago. It included amendments to regulate intoxicating hemp products. The Senate voted unanimously last week against just accepting those changes. That set up the need for a conference committee. DeWine’s goal with the public health emergency was to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products while lawmakers came up with legislative solutions. However, that ban has been paused in court until at least Dec. 2, meaning that Ohioans can still currently purchase intoxicating products. Huffman said one of the sticking points will likely be provisions on where hemp beverages can be sold, and on the allowable THC levels in those hemp beverages should be. However, he said that he doesn’t foresee any differences to be “insurmountable” as legislators work towards a solution. “We all have the same goal to get rid of the bad stuff, the bad actors, and make it safe, particularly for children,” Huffman said.
