The circus — doing business as the Ohio General Assembly — left the Statehouse last week, aiming to stay home until sometime in 2024. Given that Ohio’s primary election will be held March 19 — 2 1/2 months into the New Year — don’t expect much Capitol Square boat-rocking before then.
Many, if not most, contests for (gerrymandered) state Senate and Ohio House of Representatives seats are filled in the primary. The last things any incumbent General Assembly member wants just before a primary election are tough Statehouse votes on controversial statewide issues.
For those Ohioans who keep an eye on the Statehouse, many are interested in how and when the legislature will mess with Issue 2, the November ballot measure in which 57% of the Ohioans voting backed the legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana.
The law took effect this month — with some ifs and buts. (Ohio had already legalized medical marijuana in 2016 in a bill whose prime sponsor was then-Rep. Steve Huffman, a suburban Dayton Republican, now a senator, who is a physician.)
Voter-passed Issue 2 allows Ohioans to possess up to six marijuana plants per person (and no more than 12 per household). Initially, the Senate’s GOP buzz-killers had the politically suicidal impulse to forbid homegrown plants altogether. The Senate instead opted for a maximum of six plants per household.
Because the House failed to act on the Senate scheme Wednesday, what Ohio voters legalized in November — up to six plants…