Ohio moves closer to recreational marijuana sales, and Michigan border dispensary showcases products and prices that attract customers: Capitol Letter

Rotunda rumble

When they go low, we get high: Laura Hancock visited a marijuana dispensary in Monroe, Michigan, 25 minutes from Toledo, to get a sense of what recreational marijuana sales will look like in Ohio. Michigan’s market is more mature than Ohio’s, which will give it a price advantage, at least initially. Monroe has a population of just 21,000, but there are 18 dispensaries, and it’s questionable how many of them will survive long-term. Michigan’s regulations allow for a better customer experience, as people can examine marijuana before buying it. Ohio only allows smelling samples in jars.

Want to get out: Lobbyist and former Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges presented his request for a five-year prison sentence to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. As Jake Zuckerman reports, Borges argued that he is a private actor who has done nothing wrong, unlike some of the public officials accused of taking bribes from FirstEnergy Corp.

Don’t back out: Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Champaign County suffered a setback when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop the Biden administration’s efforts to curb misinformation by pressuring social media platforms. Jordan and other lawmakers filed a brief in the case. But Sabrina Eaton reports that Jordan is vowing to continue his fight against what he calls government censorship of information such as alleged vaccine injuries or unproven election fraud.

Court-delivered bling: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a Henry County jeweler can sue the Napoleon, Ohio, police, several of their officers and the city for throwing him in jail for four days. The allegations are baseless, reports David Patch of The Blade. Chiaverini was eventually released and the charges against him were dropped, but he feels he was unable to clear his name in a case involving allegedly stolen jewelry purchased from Chiaverini’s shop.

Financial help: The federal government’s botched rollout of the FAFSA program has put pressure on many Ohio colleges to prepare financial aid packages for students. Many colleges have seen a decline in the number of completed FASFAs. Colleges are trying to fix errors in students’ applications, fearing that the lack of financial clarity could deter some students from going to college at all, reports Sheridan Hendrix of the Columbus Dispatch.

Lobbying setup

Five organizations are lobbying for House Bill 92, which would allow the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to develop a program to import drugs from Canada.

1. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

2. Bristol-Myers Squibb

3. Johnson & Johnson

4. Pfizer Inc.

5. CVS Health

Birthdays

Mehek Cooke, Ohio Republican attorney, strategist and commentator

Directly from the source

“Stay out of my district, you fanatics.”

-State Rep. Casey Weinstein, a Democrat from Hudson, criticized on X the Libs of TikTok, an account that frequently trolls liberals and attacked a Stow city councilor for his clothing during an Independence Day parade.

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