Ohio House passes measure to add intoxicating hemp to state’s marijuana laws

The Ohio House has advanced legislation that would add intoxicating hemp products to the state’s laws that regulate marijuana.

Senate Bill 56 bans the sale of intoxicating hemp products except through a licensed, regulated hemp dispensary. Such retailers will operate in the same general manner as marijuana dispensaries currently do and be subject to Division of Cannabis Control oversight.

The measure, which does not include beverages, follows a surprise executive order Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced earlier this month to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp for 90 days. His action drew a legal challenge.

“I’ve heard throughout this process now for a very long time from folks in the hemp industry, ‘regulate us like marijuana, regulate us like marijuana.’ And that was the theme of this bill,” state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, told the Ohio Capital Journal.

Proponents said the measure ensures that hemp dispensaries cannot sell tobacco or nicotine products. It also bars retailers that allow people under 21 to shop from selling intoxicating hemp products, effectively eliminating a provision that makes hemp products available to children at locations like smoke shops and gas stations.

It also ensures intoxicating hemp products undergo safety testing and product standards, and face the same standards pertaining to potency, advertising, and packaging as adult-use marijuana, which was a major issue DeWine mentioned in announcing his executive action.

“This bill has undergone a robust, thorough and collaborative legislative process, and I believe we have landed on a good faith compromise between interested parties while reinforcing guardrails for the protection of Ohio’s children,” Speaker of the Ohio House Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said in a release.

Concurrently, the measure permits the manufacture, distribution, and sale of drinkable cannabinoid products, including manufacturer-to-retailer direct sales. It allows the sale of such products at grocers, retailers, bars, and restaurants licensed according to the Buckeye State’s liquor permitting laws.

“This legislation is a reasonable compromise that protects kids from illicit intoxicating products but still provides an avenue for existing hemp businesses to remain open under regulatory oversight,” state Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Boardman, said in a release. “The broad bipartisan support for this bill shows that we respected the will of the voters regarding Issue 2 and guaranteed that local communities can finally begin to receive the tax revenue they deserve.”

In announcing his order, DeWine said that Ohio voters approved how they want cannabis sold and where it can be sold in the state when they approved Issue 2, which legalized adult-use cannabis. The governor said that the marketing and retail practices surrounding intoxicating hemp in the Buckeye State conflict with voters’ intent.

“Substitute Senate Bill 56 respects and preserves all the core aspects of the Issue 2 initiated statute that Ohioans passed in 2023,” state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said in a release. “At the same time, we’re focusing on public safety by banning, in statute, the manufacture of products that look like fruits or gummy bears that would be attractive to children. And we’re prohibiting advertising that would be targeted to children. We’re making it very clear that selling these products to persons under 21 is illegal.”

Senate Bill 56 now returns to the Ohio Senate for a concurrence vote.