Ohio

Ohio marijuana law changes stall in Statehouse. Cities are paying the price

Published

12 months ago

June 26, 2025

Press Room

Ohio marijuana law changes stall in Statehouse. Cities are paying the price

Ohio cities with marijuana dispensaries won’t receive tax money until lawmakers agree on changes to Issue 2, which voters approved in 2023

Ohio is withholding tax revenue from cities with marijuana dispensaries until state lawmakers agree on cannabis and hemp regulations.
Local governments express frustration over the withheld funds, while state officials claim they lack the constitutional authority to release the money without a specific appropriation.
The debate over marijuana and hemp regulation will continue in the fall.

Ohio will continue to withhold money from cities with marijuana dispensaries after Republican efforts to change cannabis and hemp laws came up empty.

The two-year budget approved by the House and Senate maintains current funding for municipalities, which is 36% of the tax revenue from adult-use cannabis sales. But lawmakers won’t release that money until they reach an agreement on rules for marijuana and intoxicating hemp products.

Republicans hoped to have a deal on marijuana before the Legislature’s summer break, but it didn’t happen − punting the issue to later this year. Local leaders say that puts them in the difficult spot of trying to fund services without money they were promised.

“What they’re saying is if we can take your lunch money, we will,” said David Kubicki, chairman of Columbia Township Trustees.

Ohio lawmakers reach impasse on marijuana, hemp

As approved by voters in 2023, Issue 2 divides marijuana revenue between local communities, a social equity program, substance use research and administrative costs. The budget keeps local funding in place and directs the rest to Ohio’s general bank account.

Republicans pledged early on to dismantle the social equity program, which aimed to diversify the industry and right the wrongs of cannabis prohibition. State regulators have allowed the program to languish amid uncertainty about its future.

But that’s not the only part of Issue 2 lawmakers want to change.

The House and Senate spent months negotiating over Senate Bill 56, which would revise Issue 2 and govern gray market cannabis such as delta-8. The latest version regulates the gifting of home-grown cannabis, allows up to 400 dispensaries and permits smoking only at private residences and outdoor concert venues.

“We need to specify that they can have more dispensaries, for example, rather than a tightly locked number,” Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, said. “The only way we’re going to drive the price down to be more competitive with other states is to have more dispensaries.”

Senate Bill 56 would also set rules for THC beverages and require intoxicating hemp products to be sold in dispensaries. Gov. Mike DeWine has repeatedly called on lawmakers to address delta-8, saying a loophole in federal law makes it easy for children to buy untested products.

Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said there were too many differences among Republicans to reach a compromise before the end of June. Hemp became a major sticking point: Some lawmakers want to put it in dispensaries, while others believe the plan would hurt legitimate businesses selling CBD products.

“If we want to truly protect consumers and make sure these products are safe, we want to make sure we have a legitimate market for them rather than having them go elsewhere,” Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Boardman, said.

What’s next for local marijuana money in Ohio?

Another hang-up: How much money local governments should get.

An earlier version of the budget distributed 20% of the marijuana to cities for just five years. Stewart said Republicans couldn’t agree on a funding level and will resume that debate in the fall.

In the meantime, state officials say they can’t give money to locals because Issue 2 didn’t include a way to spend it. The Ohio Constitution requires an appropriation to release money from the state treasury.

The cannabis industry disagrees.

“It is our belief that Issue 2 was clear about the money going to local communities,” said David Bowling, executive director for the Ohio Cannabis Coalition. “Our members pride themselves in being good community partners in the areas where they live, work and do business. The Host Community Fund is a critical piece of that partnership.”

State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@gannett.com or @haleybemiller on X.

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Ohio

Cincinnati Children’s opened 6 locations in 2025. Here’s why

Published

6 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Press Room

Cincinnati Children’s opened 6 locations in 2025. Here’s why

Cincinnati Children’s is expanding its access to care across the region, including in Northern Kentucky.

The health system reported in its latest Community Impact Report, released to the public June 9, that six new locations opened in 2025, including facilities in previously underserved communities such as Clermont and Clinton counties. Rural areas often have limited access to specialized and emergency care, placing residents at a higher risk of health challenges and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here are the new locations:

Brandon and Kelly Janszen Union Building, 2015 Children’s Way, Union, Kentucky.
Crestview Hills Urgent Care, 2765 Chapel Place, Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
Children’s Eastgate, 4315 Ivy Pointe Blvd., Union Township, Ohio.
Loveland Primary Care, 10554 Loveland-Madeira Road, Loveland, Ohio.
Wilmington Primary Care, 1150 W. Locust St., Suite 500, Wilmington, Ohio.
New Richmond School-Based Health Center, 1135 Bethel-New Richmond Road, New Richmond, Ohio.

Cincinnati Children’s is one of the top-ranked children’s hospitals in the Midwest. The medical professionals at the system’s more than 50 sites provided care in 1.75 million encounters with patients during the July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025 fiscal year, spokesman Barrett Brunsman said.

Some locations are first of their kind

In Boone County, the Brandon and Kelly Janszen building opened at the hospital’s Union location in April 2025, becoming the first in Northern Kentucky to offer both primary and specialty care, including offering behavioral health counselors, lab services, X-ray and ultrasound.

In Kenton County, the hospital opened its first urgent care in Northern Kentucky in July 2025 as part of renovations at the Crestview Hills location, offering residents access to pediatric providers on evenings and weekends.

In Ohio, the Eastgate location opened in October, combining specialty clinics, outpatient surgery and an urgent care center in “the first of its kind on the East Side for Cincinnati Children’s,” where some main campus surgeons and providers now see patients, Brunsman said.

Two primary care centers also opened in 2025: Wilmington, the only primary care in Clinton County dedicated exclusively to children from newborns through teens; and Loveland, which offers closer care to families who once drove farther.

Cincinnati Children’s also introduced the New Richmond School-Based Health Center in September 2025, after reporting over 7,000 patient encounters in 2023 from the village’s ZIP code, including 2,375 without an identified primary care provider, Brunsman said. The new health center is within walking distance for 1,000 middle and high school students, and is open to their families and other children in the community.

The school-based center was funded by a grant from Ohio’s Appalachian Community Innovation Centers program, obtained by New Richmond Schools. Across the other five new locations, Cincinnati Children’s invested around $141 million in renovations, design and acreage, the hospital noted.

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Ohio

Woman sentenced for driving Postal Service truck while intoxicated

Published

16 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Press Room

Woman sentenced for driving Postal Service truck while intoxicated

NEWTON FALLS, Ohio (WKBN) – A woman accused of driving intoxicated while working for the Postal Service in a mail truck entered a plea Tuesday in her case.

Michele Kellar, 47, of Warren, pleaded guilty to OVI, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to court records.

Court records state that she was sentenced to 12 months of probation and her license was suspended for a year, with limited driving privileges. She can also serve three days in a driver’s intervention program.

Trumbull County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Kellar in March after those living on Anderson Anthony Road NW in Braceville reported seeing the driver of a mail truck at the end of their driveway had passed out. They reported that they were able to wake the driver up, but said she drove off.

Deputies found the mail truck down the road, where she had driven off into a yard. According to the police report, the woman appeared very intoxicated with glassy eyes and slurred speech.

At the time of her arrest, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service confirmed that Kellar was an employee but declined to comment further. WKBN reached out Thursday for more information on Kellar’s current employment status, but a spokesperson said the Postal Service does not disclose internal administrative actions.

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Ohio

Storms bring down trees and knocks out power to thousands in Northeast Ohio

Published

1 day ago

June 11, 2026

Press Room

Storms bring down trees and knocks out power to thousands in Northeast Ohio

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Severe thunderstorms rolled through Northeast Ohio on Wednesday night, bringing down trees and knocking out power to thousands.

The heaviest damage seemed to be in Lorain County in the city of Lorain and Amherst. The Amherst Fire Department said there are large trees down on Jackson Street and Cleveland Avenue.