The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) advocacy team monitors healthcare related legislation, rule changes, and legislative updates for Ohio’s family physicians.
To access the OAFP Bill Tracker, visit the OAFP Public Policy webpage and click on the Bill Tracker icon.
Read on for this week’s updates and contact Advocacy Coordinator Kaela Springhetti with questions or for ways to get involved.
Ohio Doubles Daily Purchase Limit for Recreational Cannabis
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
Ohio has reported more than $555 million in recreational cannabis sales, and starting this week Ohio dispensaries are permitted to sell more than twice the amount of cannabis flower they have sold to nonmedical customers since the program’s launch.
Dispensaries can now sell up to 2.5 ounces of dried marijuana plant material per customer per day, according to the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control. When Ohio’s recreational cannabis program launched in August 2024, dispensaries were permitted to sell up to a single ounce of flower per customer per day.
Under the updated rules, for purchases other than plant material, customers can buy up to 15,000 mg of THC between edibles, vapes, and other products. These updated rules only apply to non-medical customers, the division said. Ohio medical marijuana patients and caregivers can purchase up to a 90-day supply of cannabis.
Budget Cuts Impacting Effectiveness of U.S. Public Health System, Analysis Finds
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
State and local health departments responsible for invisible but critical work such as inspecting restaurants, monitoring wastewater for new and harmful germs, responding to outbreaks before they get too big — and a host of other tasks to protect both individuals and communities — are being hollowed out by changes in federal policy.
The Trump Administration is cutting health spending on an unprecedented scale, experts say, including pulling $11 billion of direct federal support because the pandemic is over and eliminating 20,000 jobs at national health agencies that in part assist and support local public health work. It’s proposing billions more be slashed.
Together, public health leaders said, the cuts are reducing the entire system to a shadow of what it once was, threatening to undermine even routine work at a time when the nation faces the deadliest measles outbreak since at least the 1990s, rising whooping cough cases, and the risk that bird flu could spread widely among people.
The moves reflect a shift that Americans may not fully realize, away from the very idea of public health: doing the work that no individual can do alone to safeguard the population as a whole.
Bill to Force 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period Despite Judge’s Injunction
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio Republicans want to reinstate a 24-hour waiting period for abortions, despite a judge’s order blocking it.
The proposal from Representatives Mike Odioso (R-Green Twp, OH) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp, OH) would require doctors to provide patients seeking an abortion with information about the “physical and psychological risks” at least 24 hours before an abortion pill or procedure.
Patients would receive information about abortion risks and reviews of the physician providing it, Rep. Williams said. Patients could sue if they don’t receive this information in person, via phone, email, or other means, according to a news release. Lawmakers are calling the bill the “She Wins Act.”
Abortion rights advocates say the proposal is at odds with a judge’s decision that blocked Ohio’s longtime 24-hour waiting period. The preliminary injunction came after Ohio voters approved a reproductive rights amendment in 2023.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Young cited the 2023 amendment in his ruling, which allowed providers to offer same-day abortions. In many cases, the waiting period extended beyond one day because of transportation challenges or other issues.
Read the full article in The Columbus Dispatch.