Under current Ohio statute, municipalities with marijuana dispensaries are poised to profit from recreational sales through what's known as the Host Community Cannabis Fund, but lawmakers are looking to cut the fund.
At 36%, more than one-third of tax revenue from the state's relatively young recreational cannabis program was earmarked for the fund, as outlined in Issue 2, the initiated statute.
Gov. Mike DeWine's budget proposal, released Monday, eliminates that community fund, as does Senate Bill 56. Under the budget DeWine proposed, that pool of money would instead go to jail projects. SB 56 redirects all revenue to the General Revenue Fund managed by the state, but that's subject to change, lawmakers have said.
Some local officials feel cheated. David Kubicki, president of the Columbia Township Trustees in Hamilton County, said he sold residents on the idea of economic benefits cannabis dispensaries could bring.
Read more at State News Bureau