Another busy season for the Ohio General Assembly came and went without any success modifying marijuana laws.

Early on in June, Republican lawmakers said they were close to consensus on changes, an issue they have gone back and forth over since smoking or ingesting it became legal for Ohioans 21 and older in December 2023. By late June, negotiations on Senate Bill 56 broke down yet again.

“I just told my caucus, we’re not going to just say ‘okay’ because we’re so anxious to pass the marijuana bill, which I’d like to get it done, but we’re not going to give up House priorities to do that,” House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said.

Huffman said pressing House priorities were ignored when the Senate brought forward what he said was a “whole new set of issues,” pausing the bill’s passage.

“Maybe there was, maybe a misunderstanding as to where we might have been on the bill as both chambers,” Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said.

Lawmakers and lobbyists have since said that misalignment was partly over how to handle delta-8 THC and other related, unregulated products.

The latest version of SB 56 strictly limited where Ohioans could purchase most products containing those cannabinoid derivatives, putting intoxicating, tested products behind dispensaries’ counters and banning sale of them otherwise. It carved out CBD-infused drinks, allowing retailers with a liquor license to sell them.

With lawmakers gone for summer recess, hemp retailers are breathing easier. They said they want some regulatory framework, but worry about this effort, which they see as a de facto ban.

“That’s not fair, that’s not okay, that’s not right. That’s not what we should be doing,” said Dakota Sawyer, who is lobbying for hemp retailers with the right-wing American Republic Policy.

Marijuana industry members want a stricter mandate. Adrienne Robbins, Adrienne Robbins, deputy executive director for industry trade association the Ohio Cannabis Coalition, said she believes the unregulated products pose health risks.

“It’s not tested, it’s not regulated, and it’s being marketed to kids,” Robbins said. “That’s the reality of this industry and that’s the majority of this industry.”

Lawmakers are out of town until at least the early fall.