COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio House is slated to vote on a bill allowing some cities to create outdoor refreshment areas where revelers could walk outside with open containers of alcohol.
State senators, meanwhile, are poised to vote on a measure that would make selling pure caffeine products a misdemeanor offense in Ohio.
The open-container proposal, which could head to the governor on Wednesday, allows cities of a certain size to create areas exempted from Ohio’s open-container law. That law generally prohibits a person from carrying an open container of beer or liquor in public.
The idea is to allow for entertainment districts similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans and Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.
The proposal’s supporters want to create such areas in time for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game in Cincinnati on July 14.
An emergency clause in the bill would cause it to take effect immediately upon Gov. John Kasich’s signature.
With few exceptions, the measure on powdered caffeine before the Senate would ban people from knowingly selling products consisting solely or primarily of caffeine that’s manufactured into a crystalline, liquid or powdered form.
People still could sell caffeine in pill form if each unit has less than 250 milligrams of caffeine. The bill exempts products such as coffee, tea and energy drinks that include caffeine and other ingredients.
While reviewing the bill, senators heard from the parents of an 18-year-old LaGrange teenager who overdosed on caffeine powder and died last year.
The Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers to avoid pure powdered caffeine. The substance has been widely available online.