Marijuana Moment: New Ohio Senate Bill Would Ban Sale Of Intoxicating Hemp Products To People Under 21

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“Everybody agrees [intoxicating hemp products are] targeted to children to look like Skittles and Oreo cookies and that it’s unregulated… We need to act because this stuff is poisoning kids [and] making kids sick.”

By Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio state Sen. Bill DeMora (D) recently introduced a bill that would ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products to people under 21. Unlike some others that have been introduced, this bill would focus solely on hemp and not on changing voter-passed marijuana law.

Ohio Senate Bill 266 would also ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products that have not been tested under the same rules as marijuana and would prevent selling intoxicating hemp products that are “considered attractive to children,” according to the bill’s language.

This bill would prohibit selling an intoxicating hemp product “that bears the likeness or contains the characteristics of a realistic or fictional human, animal, or fruit, including artistic, caricature, or cartoon renderings,” according to the bill’s language.

“I put this bill in to get rid of the stuff that everybody agrees is bad,” Columbus Democratic state Sen. DeMora said. “Everybody agrees [intoxicating hemp products are] targeted to children to look like Skittles and Oreo cookies and that it’s unregulated… We need to act because this stuff is poisoning kids [and] making kids sick.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has previously asked lawmakers to regulate or ban delta-8 THC products.

“It’s a huge problem,” DeWine said talking to reporters on Monday. “There’s really no regulation at all. We need regulation. We need the legislature to take action on this. We’re also looking, frankly, at some things that I might be able to do without legislative action.”

DeMora thinks marijuana and hemp products should be dealt with separately.

“Hopefully this bill will, if nothing else, we can all agree on one thing—to get the bad stuff out of the hands of kids and stop the marketing toward kids,” he said.

The 2018 Farm Bill says hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3 percent THC.

Ohio is one of about 20 states that does not have any regulations around intoxicating hemp products, according to an Ohio State University Drug Enforcement and Policy Center study from November 2024.

This is one of a handful of bills in the Ohio legislature that are trying to regulate intoxicating hemp products.

Ohio Senate Bill 86

Ohio Senate Bill 86 would ban intoxicating hemp products sales to anyone under 21, impose a 10 percent tax on intoxicating hemp products and regulate drinkable cannabinoid products.

The bill would require intoxicating hemp products to be sold only at adult-use marijuana dispensaries instead of allowing them to be sold at CBD stores, convenience stores, smoke shops, or gas stations.

It would require intoxicating hemp products to only be sold if the products have been tested and comply with standards for packing, labeling, and advertising.

Republicans Ohio state Sens. Steve Huffman and Shane Wilkin introduced S.B. 86, which unanimously passed the Ohio Senate in April.

Ohio Senate Bill 56

Ohio Senate Bill 56 would regulate intoxicating hemp and change Ohio’s marijuana laws.

It would only allow a licensed marijuana dispensary to sell intoxicating hemp products that have been tested and complied with packaging, labeling and advertising requirements.

Huffman, R-Tipp City, introduced S.B. 56 which would have the Ohio Department of Commerce regulate intoxicating hemp products and drinkable cannabinoid products.

The bill would also reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, limit the number of active dispensaries to 400 and prohibit smoking in most public places.

S.B. 56 passed in the Senate earlier this year, but has yet to make it out of the House Judiciary Committee.

Ohioans passed a citizen-initiated law to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 with 57 percent of the vote, and sales started in August 2024.

Ohio lawmakers can change the law since it passed as a citizen initiative not a constitutional amendment.

Ohio House Bill 160

Ohio House Bill 160 mostly deals with potential changes to the state’s marijuana laws, but it also has an intoxicating hemp provision that would require every THC product to only be sold at Ohio’s regulated marijuana dispensaries.

H.B. 160 would reduce the THC levels in marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90 percent down to a maximum of 70 percent, cap the number of marijuana dispensaries at 350, and reallocate the bulk of marijuana tax revenue to the state’s General Revenue Fund.

It would ban using marijuana in public spaces and offer expungement for prior convictions for marijuana related offenses.

It would also make it illegal to purchase marijuana in another state and bring it back to Ohio.

State Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, introduced H.B. 160, which has had three hearings so far in the Ohio House Judiciary Committee.

This story was first published by Ohio Capital Journal.

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