Marijuana Moment: Bill On Ohio Governor’s Desk Will Put Hemp Companies Out Of Business, Owners Say

[Tokeativity]

“This was my American dream, so to see it get taken away from you, kind of hurts.”

By Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal

Ohioans in the intoxicating hemp industry fear a bill heading to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) desk will put them out of business.

Ohio Senate Bill 56 is on its way to DeWine after Ohio Senate Republicans passed the bill Tuesday. The Ohio House passed the bill last month after it went to conference committee.

Ohio’s bill complies with recent federal changes by banning intoxicating hemp products from being sold outside of a licensed marijuana dispensary. If DeWine signs the bill into law before the new year, the ban could take effect as soon as March.

“This bill is going to put businesses like me and families like me out of business,” said Ahmad Khalil, one of the owners of Hippie Hut Smoke Shop, with locations in Ohio and Washington.

“Overnight, we’re going to see tens of thousands of people directly impacted, which will ripple effect into 50,000 of families that are also dependent on this person.”

Khalil has been in the hemp industry for nine years.

“This was my American dream, so to see it get taken away from you, kind of hurts,” he said.

Jason Friedman, owner of Ohio CBD Guy in Cincinnati, said this is extremely frustrating.

“My tentative plan will involve eventually closing my East Walnut Hills location resulting in less hours and likely loss of jobs for some of my employees,” he said.

Instead of a ban, Friedman wants regulations for the hemp industry such as age-gating, packaging restrictions, and testing requirements.

“For the state to say that they are changing their stance to banning from regulating because of what the federal government has done in banning intoxicating hemp in the recent spending bill, makes no sense because marijuana has been illegal federally the whole time,” he said.

Mark Fashian, president of hemp product wholesaler Midwest Analytical Solutions in Delaware, Ohio, said this will put him, and hundreds of others out of business, if this becomes law.

He works with more than 500 stores around Ohio that sell intoxicating hemp products.

“It’s just despicable what [the lawmakers have] done,” he said. “It’s actually slowed my business down a lot because a lot of companies are now afraid to buy products because they don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

The intoxicating hemp ban has nothing to do with protecting children, Fashian said.

“If we want to protect children, make it 21 and over,” he said. “If there is an increase in kids getting hold of this stuff it’s because mom and dad are pretty careless and leave it on the kitchen table, and the kids grab it from them.”

Fashian said he expects lawsuits if the bill is signed into law.

Kim Bryant, a salesperson at Your CBD Store Marion, said these products help people with their anxiety, sleep, and pain management.

“It’s very sad to me,” she said. “This product helps so many people.”

Bryant said the average age of their customer is 50 years old and she does not think they will want to go to a marijuana dispensary.

The bill also allows five milligram THC beverages to be manufactured, distributed, and sold until Dec. 31, 2026.

Marijuana

Ohio S.B. 56 also makes changes to the state’s marijuana law.

It would reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90 percent down to a maximum of 70 percent, cap THC levels in adult-use flower to 35 percent, and prohibit smoking in most public places.

The bill prohibits possessing marijuana in anything outside of its original packaging and requires drivers to store marijuana in the trunk of their car while driving.

“This is a re-criminalization bill,” said Morgan Fox, political director at the advocacy group National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.

“Civil protections for cannabis consumers were stripped for absolutely zero justification offered is incredibly disappointing,” Fox said.

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Washington and Washington, D.C. require marijuana to be transported in a sealed package and/or in the trunk of a car, Fox said.

“I fear that what we will see in Ohio is an emphasis on enforcement combined with little to no consumer education on the part of the state,” he said. “People might think they’re in complete compliance, but yet are engaging in activity that could lead to prosecutions.”

A similar law in Illinois has kept marijuana-related arrests high post-legalization with 6,944 arrests in 2024, according to NORML.

The bill also criminalizes bringing legal marijuana from another state back to Ohio.

“To the best of my knowledge, no other state other than Ohio explicitly bans possession of cannabis that did not originate in the state,” Fox said.

He said is disappointed, but not surprised.

Ohio lawmakers “have been trying to weaken the voter approved law and laws surrounding protections for cannabis consumers since after voters approved Issue Two,” he said. This “absolutely goes against the will of the voters.”

Ohioans passed a citizen-initiated law to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 with 57 percent of the vote. Sales started in August 2024 and exceeded $702.5 million in the first year.

The Ohio Cannabis Coalition is happy lawmakers voted to ban intoxicating hemp products and give 36 percent of adult-use marijuana sale revenue to municipalities and townships that have recreational marijuana dispensaries.

“Ohio is taking decisive action to protect families and demonstrate leadership as one of the first states in the nation to act since the closure of the Farm Bill loophole,” OHCANN Executive Director David Bowling said. “These tax dollars are an important way the cannabis industry benefits the communities where they live and operate.”

This story was first published by Ohio Capital Journal.

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

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