Ohio Hemp Regulation Crisis: Intoxicating Hemp Products at Risk in Columbus
Columbus, Ohio – While the Ohio Legislature has yet to reach consensus on regulating hemp products, the U.S. Senate’s recent agreement to reopen the government contains a surprising provision that would effectively ban intoxicating hemp-derived items nationwide.
“This is not something we anticipated,” said Michael Tindall, executive director of the Ohio Healthy Alternatives Association. “From speaking to Ohio constituents, there’s deep concern—everything we have done has been federally legal since 2018.”
With the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp cultivation and CBD products proliferated across America. Advocates warn that reversing this progress now could pull the rug out from under many Ohio businesses. “Brewers, farmers, manufacturers who invested heavily in hemp beverage and non-beverage alike, suddenly face a ban,” Tindall added. “In Ohio alone, over 5,000 businesses, more than 20,000 jobs, and a multi-billion-dollar economic footprint are at stake.”
In Ohio, the regulatory landscape grows increasingly complex. In October, Governor Mike DeWine issued an executive order to remove intoxicating hemp products from stores—an order later blocked by a court after three businesses filed suit. Around the same time, the Ohio House passed Senate Bill 56 (SB 56), proposing regulation for both marijuana and hemp products. The Ohio Senate, however, rejected the changes and sent the measure to a conference committee.
Gov Mike DeWine Sued by Ohio Companies for removing intoxicating hemp products from Ohio stores
Senator Bill DeMora (D-Columbus), a committee manager for SB 56, noted the challenge: “We may have to make hemp legal first and then regulate it the way we want.”
Even if the federal spending bill passes as drafted, the hemp provision would not take effect for another year, giving regulators and industry stakeholders a window to lobby Congress and shape the law. Nonetheless, many in Ohio’s hemp sector remain alarmed by how the provision slipped into a government-funding measure. “Slip-in is the right word here,” said Drew Hull, strategy director of the American Healthy Alternatives Association. “To see this happen within the reopen-the-government package is rather unusual.”
Follow Dalmar TV on Facebook for the Latest News
