2 Ohio Republicans taking on their own party to protect access to marijuana

OG Article  By: Morgan Trau Watch Today's LIVE Episode on YouTube, X, and Rumble

July 08, 2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A notable rift has emerged within the Ohio House Republican caucus as two members, State Reps. Tex Fischer (R-Boardman) and Jamie Callender (R-Concord), are actively working to uphold the will of Ohio voters regarding recreational cannabis, despite efforts by other GOP legislators to restrict the drug.

In November 2023, Ohioans overwhelmingly approved Issue 2, legalizing recreational cannabis with 57% of the vote. However, since then, numerous Republican lawmakers have sought to alter the law, drawing criticism from various groups including citizens, dispensaries, Democrats, and even some within their own party.

"Thumbing our nose in the face of the voters, I think that should be a non-starter for a lot of people," stated Rep. Fischer, highlighting the strong public mandate for the law.

State Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) has been the resident cannabis expert in the House for decades, but recently, Fischer has joined him as the other leading voice in preventing the Senate’s proposed changes to Issue 2.

"We're kind of the long and the short of the issue," Callender said, jokingly pointing out the height difference between him and Fischer.

For the past several months, the House and Senate chambers have been trying to compromise on their separate bills.

In short, the Senate’s proposal decreases THC content, reduces home growing from 12 plants to 6, imposes more criminal penalties and takes away tax money from local municipalities that have dispensaries. The House's latest version had none of those.

Click here for Senate version and here for House version changes.

In June, Callender told me an agreement was reached on following most of the House's new version, which mainly focused on preventing children from accessing the drug.

But as we reported, the Senate pulled out of a deal at the last minute.