Ohio Law Decriminalizes Most Marijuana Paraphernalia
By early fall, Ohio law will start treating people caught with a marijuana pipe the same way it treats those who get most traffic tickets. WKSU’s M.L. Schultze reports on a little-known aspect of current and coming law.
Senate Bill 337got lots of attention when Gov. Kasich signed last week. In fact, it’s considered a model nationally on how to remove barriers that keep reformed felons getting jobs.
But getting a lot less attention is the part of the bill that decriminalizes possession of most marijuana paraphernalia. It lessens that from a fourth-degree misdemeanor to a minor misdemeanor -- along the lines of most traffic tickets and charges like public intoxication.
The bill was sponsored by state senators Shirley Smith of Cleveland and Bill Seitz of Cincinnati, both of whom say it evens out an incongruity that most people don’t know exists in current law. Sen. Smith:
“You could get caught with paraphernalia that people use for marijuana, and get more time for the paraphernalia than you would for a small amount of marijuana.”
- Read the entire article at WKSU.
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