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.
Gov. Mike DeWine Announces Plan to Sign New Hemp, Cannabis Restrictions into Law
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
Calling it a major victory for Ohio kids, Governor Mike DeWine recently said that he’ll sign a bill into law that curtails the sale of most hemp products and rolls back rights afforded to recreational cannabis users (Source: Gov. Mike DeWine Will Sign Hemp and Marijuana Restrictions Into Law, The Columbus Dispatch, December 11, 2025).
Senate Bill 56, which would require hemp products with more than 0.4 milligrams per container to be sold in licensed marijuana dispensaries, was recently approved by the General Assembly.
The 2018 Farm Bill originally legalized hemp and defined it as cannabis containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight. Delta-9 is the most well-known psychoactive compound in cannabis. The loophole in federal law allowed for the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products that are not subject to the same safety, testing, or age-restriction rules as state-licensed cannabis.
The Ohio bill mirrors a federal hemp ban that Congress passed in the bill to end the government shutdown.
That rule doesn’t apply to THC beverages. Ohio would allow breweries and bars to sell drinks with no more than 5 milligrams of THC per serving until the end of 2026. Lawmakers included the delay because the federal ban doesn’t take effect for a year and could change if beverage lobbyists get their way.
- Eliminates several legal protections for adult consumers of cannabis, meaning people could lose access to unemployment benefits, organ transplants, rental homes and parenting time based solely on their cannabis use
- Releases nearly $100 million in revenue for municipalities and townships with dispensaries
- Requires people who drive with cannabis products to store them in the trunk in their original packaging
- Bans the smoking and vaping of marijuana anywhere except a private residence, which goes further than Ohio’s cigarette smoking ban
- Prohibits smoking and home grow cannabis in transitional housing and homes used as childcare facilities.
AAFP Speak Out Opportunities
Source: The American Academy of Family Physicians
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Speak Out tool enables you to directly contact your state officials, members of Congress, or the Office of the President on the issues that matter most to primary care.
- Speak Out: Urge Congress Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act
- Speak Out: Tell Your Lawmakers to Support Pro-Primary Care Reforms in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
- Speak Out: Support H-1B Physicians
- Speak Out: Urge Congress to Protect PSLF for Family Physicians
- Speak Out: Tell Congress to Extend ACA Tax Credits
- Speak Out: Oppose ECAPS Act and Protect Physician-Led Primary Care
- Speak Out: Secure Long-Term Funding for THCGME, CHCs, and NHSC
- Speak Out: Make Telehealth Flexibilities Permanent
- Speak Out: Strengthen Funding for Primary Care Priorities
- Speak Out: Defend Vaccine Science and Public Health
- Speak Out: Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Reauthorization Act
- Speak Out: Tell Congress to Support Direct Primary Care.
Learn more about advocating for family medicine.