COLUMBUS, Ohio — Recreational marijuana will be legal in Ohio soon, but the rules surrounding it are still blurry.
“The rules haven’t been developed for what that [recreational marijuana] looks like and restraints. There has to be conversations with the general assembly and the governor to lay out that pathway,” said Representative Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland).
Brent said the first issue that needs to be tackled by the general assembly is public smoking.
“We have to treat cannabis no different than we do for regular smoking right now. Where you have spaces you can smoke and cannot smoke,” said Rep. Brent.
Brent said public education is also essential. She said like alcohol and smoking, it’s the job of the state to educate people on marijuana.
“We have to educate our children. We also have to educate the public of places that smoking should be allowed, what does it look like, where is a good place to get cannabis, how much you should be consuming,” Brent said.
When it comes to licensing, Brent said there will be three separate types for cultivators, manufacturers and dispensaries.
“We need to build more cultivators because there is going to be a lot of demand. We can have dispensaries that we want in the state, but if we don’t have cultivators there will be an increase in price,” she said.
Brent said she also hopes there will be conversations about expunging records for those who have minor charges involving possession and distribution of marijuana before it became legalized.
“It’s a shame to have people sitting behind bars for cannabis possession and have people making millions off of it,” she said.
Brent said she thinks the general assembly will be able to set rules in regards to recreational marijuana by the spring.