CLEVELAND (WJW) -- The race is on to alter or revise Ohio’s marijuana law before it goes into effect on Thursday. Republican Sen. Rob McColley said, “Marijuana has always been operating in a black market, the sale of marijuana for some time. This is an opportunity for Ohio if done correctly, to try and stamp out that black market to the extent possible." What to expect when recreational marijuana becomes legal in Ohio this week Introduced by lawmakers in the Ohio Senate, House Bill 86 would eliminate growing marijuana at home; Issue 2 currently allows six plants per person. It would also incre ..read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW) -- A bill introduced this week in the Ohio Statehouse would change the state's new recreational marijuana law, which voters approved in the November election and which takes effect next week. Ohio House Bill 341, introduced Tuesday, Nov. 28, by state Rep. Gary Click of Vickery, R-88th, would allow local governments to ban the consumption of non-medical marijuana and home growing of cannabis. It would also divert some tax revenue from sales of the drug toward substance abuse and recovery efforts as well as police training ..read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A GOP-sponsored bill that would ban nearly all diversity and inclusion training requirements at Ohio’s public colleges and universities and bar public universities from taking stances on “controversial” topics doesn't have the votes to move forward in the Legislature, according to the House's conservative leader. House Speaker Jason Stephens, a rural southern Ohio Republican, told reporters Tuesday that he wouldn't be pushing the contentious legislation to a floor vote in the GOP-dominated House, as it simply doesn't have enough support despite having cleared th ..read more

[In the player above, watch previous coverage from FOX 8 sister station WCMH on a citizen-led initiative to create an independent redistricting commission.] COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The more than two-year legal battle over the maps of Ohio Statehouse districts that were crafted in response to the 2020 Census may be over. In a 4-3 ruling late Monday, the Ohio Supreme Court cited unanimous, bipartisan passage in September of a new round of legislative maps in dismissing three long-running lawsuits brought by Democratic and voting-rights groups. Man dead, teen arrested after Oberlin shooting O'Conno ..read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The applicability of Ohio’s stand-your-ground law – and two teenagers’ life sentences in prison – are in the hands of the state’s high court. After accepting a series of cases related to the state’s self-defense statutes, the Ohio Supreme Court agreed on Nov. 17 to consolidate the cases of two young men facing life in prison for another teenager’s death during a drug deal. The pending review will settle disagreements among Ohio’s courts about whether a law eliminating the duty to retreat in self-defense cases should apply when the crime occurred before it went into effe ..read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Two Ohio brothers grew up rivals, with one being an Ohio State fan and the other a Michigan fan. But when one needed a kidney transplant, the other stepped up immediately to be a living donor. Steve Robison has been dealing with kidney disease for a little over a year. When he found out he needed a transplant his younger brother, Mike, offered his kidney. The Robison brothers grew up in northwest Ohio. Steve was a Wolverines fan and Mike loved the Buckeyes. “I never held it against him, but it wasn’t enough to convince me to be a Michigan fan, so we’ve always held that ..read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The mother of an Ohio social worker's client has sued both the employee and her employer, claiming warnings of sexual misconduct fell on deaf ears and later resulted in violence. In a civil complaint filed Monday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, the mother accused the National Youth Advocate Program of failing to remove her 13-year-old son from 24-year-old Payton Shires' care when she alerted the nonprofit that Shires was having an inappropriate sexual relationship with the teen client. A Columbus SWAT team arrested Shires on Oct. 6 on a felony charge of sexual c ..read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW) -- Hunters in three Ohio counties are required to sample harvested white-tailed deer for chronic wasting disease, a fatal neurological illness, during the seven-day gun season starting next week. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is watching for afflicted deer in Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties, according to a Wednesday news release ..read more

[In the player above, see unusual animals spotted in Ohio.] COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW) -- Youth hunters bagged more than 10,000 white-tailed deer during the state's two-day gun hunting season for young hunters this past weekend, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. That's well above the three-year average between 2020 and 2022, which was about 7,600 deer, according to a news release. The total included more than 5,700 antlered deer and more than 4,300 antlerless deer ..read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Guy Fieri, the renowned chef, restaurateur, bestselling author, award-winning TV host, and Columbus native, has announced the debut of Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Fest, a two-day extravaganza celebrating food, flavor, and fun. The event is scheduled to take place June 1-2 in Columbus. Tickets for the festival are currently available for purchase at flavortownfest.com, starting at $155 for a two-day pass ..read more