MONTGOMERY COUNTY — A bill that would ban unlicensed adult use marijuana is headed to the state House. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate this week.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, the bill would make sure consumers are buying a regulated product.
“It’s not tested properly, it’s not regulated. I think it’s gone under the radar for a long time,” Tracey McMillin of Pure Ohio Wellness said.
McMillin says SB 86 is long overdue in Ohio.
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The bill would ban any intoxicating hemp product that is sold at an unlicensed dispensary.
“A child is not going to walk in and buy anything from us, but my understanding is they can walk into those places and buy something,” McMillin said.
A doctor from Dayton Children’s Hospital spoke to state senators, saying ER visits for kids who were exposed to unlicensed products went up more than 570 percent from 2019 to 2023. The doctor added that the hospital gets multiple calls a day for children under 6-years-old who were exposed to unlicensed products.
State licensed dispensaries have much more strict rules.
“All of the packaging is child resistant and tamper evident. So, I can tell you, I can’t even get into some of the packaging,” McMillin said.
The doctor’s testimony to the senate continued to say that products like Delta-8 THC have not been formally researched or evaluated by the FDA.
McMillin says this bill would help consumers be smarter shoppers.
“Having the misconception that this is what we are, it’s very confusing for the consumer, I think,” McMillin said.
These products are popping up in the Miami Valley. In March, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office raided a VIP Smoke Shop and seized hundreds of products, all of which would be illegal if the bill passed.
“People are buying items that they don’t know what they’re buying that could harm them,” Dennis Eng with the Greene County ACE Task Force said.
McMillin says there is an easy way to tell if your product is licensed or not. If a product is licensed, it will have a green sticker on the front labeled “DCC” for the Division of Cannabis Control.
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