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Ohio House Leadership Battle Ends, For Now

Ohio House
State Rep. Ryan Smith closes session for the first time as Ohio House Speaker on June 6, 2018.

In this week's Snollygoster, Ohio's political podcast from WOSU Public Media, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss how the Ohio House finally quieted the storm over the next speaker. The calm should last, oh, about six months.

Meanwhile, qualifying patients hoping for some green relief likely won't be getting medical marijuana by the state's September deadline.

Listen to Snollygoster on theWOSU Public Media mobile app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And make sure to leave a rating and review!

In this week's episode:
Eleventh Time's A Charm

It only took 11 rounds of voting and one rule change to get state Rep. Ryan Smith in the House Speaker's chair. Smith was the favorite to win over weeks of infighting among Republicans, some of whom backed former Speaker Larry Householder and his proxies, state Reps. Andy Thompson and Jim Hughes.

The fun should continue in January when the Speaker selection process begins anew, this time with Householder himself in the fray.

Now, the House will hold sessions for the rest of the month in hopes of working through the backlog of over 150 pieces of legislation - including that pesky payday lending reform. Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler joins the conversation.

Medical Weed Delayed, Man

Medical marijuana is legal in Ohio, but the state has struggled to meet deadlines to ensure treatments are available by September. Though the list of approved dispensaries was released, pot won't be available on schedule and Democratic lawmakers such as Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko are angry.

The state did announcemedical marijuana will be available in 56 locations, when it's finally ready. Unless you live in very particular pockets of Northeast Ohio and Southwest Ohio, there should be a location near you.

John Kasich GPS

Our governor isn't shy about criticising President Trump, which is likely why he is a frequent guest on the Sunday TV circuit. This week, Kasich cited the president's tariffs on steel and aluminum as the latest policies that are isolating the U.S. from the rest of the world.

Mike Thompson spends much of his time correcting people who mispronounce the name of his hometown – Worcester, Massachusetts. Mike studied broadcast journalism at Syracuse University when he was not running in circles – as a distance runner on the SU track team.
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