Points of Practice
GO GREEN:
Senate Bill 57 and Redefining Hemp BY Bryan M. Pritikin
Until a few years ago, the phrase “going green” referred to engaging in a more ecologically responsible lifestyle for the sake of the environment. The last 10 years, however, have seen businesses and states “going green” as waves of regulations legalizing marijuana and hemp are passed across the nation. To date, 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medicinal use with various forms of similar legislation pending in multiple other states. Ten states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana use. Eventual nationwide legalization within the states seems inevitable.
of the genus cannabis.”i Under Ohio law, then, both marijuana and hemp are controlled substances. Only those so licensed can cultivate marijuana, and because hemp falls under Ohio’s definition of marijuana, the same holds true for cultivating hemp.
Both hemp and marijuana come from the cannabis plant and both are currently illegal to possess or use under Ohio law, unless otherwise licensed through Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program, or OMMCP. Ohio’s law defines marijuana as “all parts of a plant
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CBD’s use is becoming increasingly popular, but it cannot be consumed in Ohio without a prescription. House Bill 523 created the OMMCP, but it did not carve out an exception for the possession or use of CBD, which means CBD oil falls under Ohio’s definition of marijuana. For that reason, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy stated late last year that CBD-consumable products would only be available through statelicensed dispensaries. So, to legally possess CBD oil in Ohio, genuine plant extract or synthetic, with little