Cannabis News
Ohio Activists Plan Referendum To Block New Law Rolling Back Marijuana Rights And Restricting Hemp Sales
Ohio activists are launching a campaign to stop a bill the governor just signed Reduce the state’s voter-approved marijuana law and prohibit the sale of consumable hemp products outside of licensed cannabis dispensaries.
Ohioans for Cannabis Choice said Friday it would collect signatures for a statewide referendum, which would suspend implementation of SB 56 until voters have a say in the next regular or general election.
Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has been adamant about fighting the intoxicating unregulated hemp market, but the legislation he signed would do more than limit the sale of cannabinoid products to dispensaries.
It would also recriminalize certain marijuana activities that were legalized under the 2023 ballot initiative, and would also remove anti-discrimination protections for cannabis users that were established under that law.
The governor also used his line veto powers to cancel a section of the bill that would have delayed the implementation of the hemp beverage ban.
Advocates and activists strongly protested the current legislation, arguing that it undermines the will of voters and would effectively wipe out the state’s hemp industry, as there is little hope that adults will choose hemp-based products over marijuana when they visit a dispensary.
The rejection spurred the newly introduced referendum, but the road to successfully blocking the law is narrow. Cannabis Choice for Ohioans must first collect an initial batch of 1,000 valid signatures, which would have to be certified by the secretary of state, and then submit a total of about 250,000 signatures for the ballot.
“SB 56 strongly defies the will of Ohio voters, who spoke clearly on this issue, and denies Ohioans the freedom to use these products for personal use,” said Dennis Willard, campaign spokesman.
“We are launching a referendum campaign to go directly to the voters,” he said he said. “We believe voters will say no to government overreach, no to closing 6,000 small businesses and laying off thousands of workers across the state, and no to recriminalizing hemp and marijuana.”
If activists reached the signature threshold three months from now, a deadline that coincides with the same day the restrictive law takes effect, SB 56 would not be enacted until voters had a chance to decide on the issue on the ballot.
Advocates have expressed several concerns with the law, including that it would eliminate language in statutes that provide anti-discrimination protections to people who legally use cannabis. It includes safeguards against adverse action in the context of child custody rights, the ability to perform organ transplants, and professional licensing.
It would also recriminalize possession of marijuana from any source other than a state-licensed Ohio dispensary or possession of marijuana from a legal household. Because of this, people can be charged with a felony for carrying cannabis purchased from a legal Michigan store in the Michigan area.
It would also ban the smoking of cannabis in outdoor public places, such as bar patios, and ban landlords from vaping marijuana in rental properties. Violation of this latter policy, even if it involves vaping in a person’s backyard in a rental property, would be a misdemeanor offense.
The legislation would also replace what had been a House-passed regulatory framework for intoxicating hemp with a broad ban on over-the-counter marijuana sales, following a recent federal move to recriminalize such products.
By law, hemp items containing more than 0.4 mg of total THC per container or containing synthetic cannabinoids cannot be sold outside of a licensed marijuana dispensary. That would be in line with the new federal hemp law included in an appropriations package signed by President Donald Trump.
The federal law banning most consumer hemp products has a one-year implementation window, however, and it appears Ohio’s legislation would go into effect sooner. The Legislature approved a temporary hemp beverage regulatory program in Ohio until December 31, 2026, but the governor vetoed that provision.
The law also includes language that, if the federal government moves to legalize hemp with a higher THC content, the Ohio legislature intends to review that policy change and explore potential statewide reforms to regulate these products.
The bill’s signing came after DeWine issued emergency regulations banning the sale of hemp products for 90 dayswith instructions to the legislature to consider permanent regulations. It has been done by a provincial judge ordered the state to enforce that policy in response to a legal challenge.
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Meanwhile, in September, the Ohio Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) released rules for the state’s proposed marijuana legalization legislation, establishing plans to update regulations on labeling and packaging requirements.
The proposal arrived a few weeks later Medical and adult marijuana sales in Ohio officially surpassed $3 billionData from the state Department of Commerce (DOC) shows.
the state About $703 million worth of recreational cannabis was sold in the first year the law was enactedAccording to data from DCC.
In March, a survey of 38 municipalities by the Ohio State University (OSU) Moritz School of Law found local leaders were “unequivocally opposed” to earlier proposals which would have cut planned funding..
Meanwhile, in Ohio, adults can buy more than double the amount of marijuana starting in June than were under previous limits, state officials determined that the market could sustainably supply patients and adult users of medical cannabis.
The governor announced his desire individually in March Marijuana tax revenue to support police training, local jails and behavioral health services. He said funding for police training was a top priority, even though it was not included when voters approved it in 2023.
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Curing is one of those phases of cannabis production that almost everyone agrees is important, but that importance hardly translates into cannabis facilities. It’s understandable that growers want to maximize their canopy space first and foremost. After all, more flowers, more income. However, the irony is that by the time a plant reaches the curing room, most of the money has already been spent. The genetics are locked in, the lights have done their job, the rooms have been marked, the harvest has been carefully handled. And yet, quality is often validated or left behind.
Simon Knobel of Calyx Containers has spent an amazing amount of time thinking about this disintegration. The company started about 9 years ago, when Simon and his co-founder Alex were still in school and adult cannabis was becoming legal in Massachusetts. “Back then, cannabis packaging meant pill bottles, borrowed wholesale from the pharmaceutical world and reused without much thought,” explains Simon. “Our initial instinct wasn’t to do something revolutionary. It was just to build something that made sense for cannabis.”
As the company developed a range of packaging formats, the focus was on quality at the point of sale. “Scent retention, ease of use, shelf life, that was the pace of our design process. What took longer to fully register was that the degradation didn’t just happen after packaging. In many cases, it was already baked in during curing.”
Simon and Calyx did extensive market research to understand what was happening with quality degradation. “It’s good to talk not only with operators, but with consumers.” A story stuck. Simon recalls interviewing a client who was on a ski trip with his family and trying to hide the fact that he had cannabis with him. This awkwardness of smell, discretion and manipulation became a design problem. The sliding cover, integrated gasket, meant the elimination of the twisting motion that gave some users a literal pain in the wrist. But it also opened up a deeper line of research.
As Calyx began to talk more seriously with growers, a recurring question came up. Where exactly does quality start to slip? To answer this, the company partnered with the Cannabis Research Coalition and worked with Dr. Allison Justice on research based on the cure. “What we found was that it wasn’t particularly comfortable for anyone relying on legacy methods,” says Simon. “One of the biggest drivers of terpene preservation was the stability of water activity. When water activity drops below 0.55 aW, the stomata begin to collapse, then shrink, then break. At that point, the mono-terpenes escape.”
These mono-terpenes are responsible for most of the aromas associated with quality cannabis. “They are also volatile in nature. Once they’re gone, they’re gone,” highlighted Simon.
© Calyx Vessels
Basic methods and alternatives
Traditional healing methods are based on burping. Opening containers, exchanging air, manually regulating humidity. “This methodology works, but it also introduces oxygen. In addition, the plant material is also subject to mechanical stress. Both oxygen and mechanical stress accelerate degradation, thus hampering quality.”
Calyx Cure was designed as an alternative to that ritual. “Instead of active intervention, Calyx Cure uses a passive atmospheric film with selective permeation properties. The layers are designed to allow specific gases to move through the material while others are restricted. Biological curing processes continue, but without opening the container, without introducing excess oxygen and without handling the flower.”
In controlled studies, Calyx saw a 33% improvement in monoterpene profile preservation compared to traditional approaches such as turkey pouches. “Practically speaking, that first hit of aroma you get when you open a jar, driven largely by monoterpenes, is intact.”
Complicating the picture is that curing is not reversible. There is a persistent belief that if cannabis dries out too much, there are no moisture packs or other interventions that can bring it back. “Excessive drying slows down the enzymatic reactions, alters the aging process and permanently changes the composition of the terpenes. Once the quality is lost at that stage, the bottle cannot revive it,” he said.
© Calyx Vessels
Curing and speed to market
Therefore, post-harvest processes cannot be the last element of cannabis facility design. “Sometimes speed or short-term cost savings drive the decision. Cure less, move product faster and assume the container will handle the rest.” Market dynamics don’t help either. When a new market opens and the shelves are empty, speed is rewarded and cutting corners can be the difference between hitting dispensaries later.
Calyx approaches it as a manufacturing and engineering problem rather than a branding exercise. Unlike much of the packaging industry, which operates largely as a middleman, Calyx operates its own factory in Utah. “That vertical integration allows us to iterate quickly. New designs can be prototyped in 1 or 2 weeks.”
This can be a huge plus, as quality control is a hot topic in the wider world of agriculture, not just cannabis. The industry often talks about wanting nutraceutical or food standards. These industries have already solved the complexity of the supply chain. They know how to produce in one region and deliver consistently to another. Cannabis, especially if it wants to move globally, will need similar discipline.”
And as with food packaging, sustainability is part of that equation in cannabis. Calyx has extensively studied compostable and hemp-based structures. “Compostable materials struggle with terpene conservation and water activity control. If the package breathes too much, the plant pays the price.”
Instead, Calyx’s approach to sustainability is based on reducing the use of materials at the manufacturing level. “The cover molded joint is a good example,” explains Simon. “Traditional seals require cutting circular inserts from large sheets, creating huge waste. We’ve designed molds where a small amount of polymer forms the cover and joint in one plane, creating almost zero waste and a fully recyclable component.”
Healing, it seems, is not passive waiting. “It’s an active and fragile process,” says Simon. “And like most fragile things in cannabis, it benefits from being engineered rather than inherited.”
For more information:
Calyx vessels
1991 W Parkway Blvd. West Valley City, UT, 84119-2026
724-303-7481
(email protected)
calyxcontainers.com
Cannabis News
Michigan Lawmakers Weigh Bill To Create Statewide Cannabis Reference Lab To Standardize Testing
Cannabis News
Vivent Biosignals & Green Laniel join forces to bring plant-driven agriculture to the US
Vivent Biosignals and Green Laniel Consulting have announced a partnership to accelerate plant-driven irrigation and irrigation in key U.S. agricultural markets. Green Laniel Consulting is a US-focused provider of agronomic solutions led by Mauricio Manotas.
By combining Vivent’s ability to decode plant biosignals in real-time using plant biosensors, machine learning and AI with Green Laniel’s deep experience in agronomy, grower operations and US market access, the partnership allows growers to make decisions based on what really matters: how the plant itself is responding.
© Vivent Biosignals
The partnership will cover a variety of crops and production systems, initially plant-driven irrigation and greenhouses for perennial crops, including potatoes, directly guided by plant feedback.
“By combining Vivint’s plant-level intelligence with Green Laniel’s strong presence and agronomic leadership in the US, we are enabling a new generation of plant-driven farming systems. This partnership helps growers improve yields and quality while significantly increasing resource efficiency and sustainability.” says Mauricio Manotas, Green Laniel Consulting.
For more information:
Vivent Biosignals
Tel.: +41 79 5114627
Email: (email protected)
https://vivent-biosignals.com/
Vancouver Lift Expo 2023 Walk Around
Re-release of full CC2C News show from Monday the 10th.Full time coded content below in description
🌱Welcome To The Strain Show!
FAT NUGS CANNABIS Mag | DUSTIN HOXWORTH
Technical advances in cannabis curing focus on water activity and terpene stability
Michigan Lawmakers Weigh Bill To Create Statewide Cannabis Reference Lab To Standardize Testing
Mint Slushy Marijuana Monday
Big Week for POTUS Trump. US Teacher Detained in Russia Freed! Prohibitionist named to DEA Chief.
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Your Cannabis Business: Consistent Filings Are Critical
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