Nearly all intoxicating hemp THC products in Ohio are illegal starting Friday when a new state law that also limits licensed cannabis businesses takes effect.
License caps and THC limits now apply to Ohio’s $1 billion annual cannabis market after a last-ditch effort to block Senate Bill 56 officially failed Wednesday, as the Ohio Capital Journal reported.
Signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine in December, SB 56 satisfied marijuana operators’ wishes by restricting the sale of hemp-derived THC products to state-licensed cannabis retailers.
But it also creates potential difficulties for new entrants into the market.
Are hemp THC beverages legal in Ohio?
A proposal to allow the sale of low-dose THC beverages failed in part because of the federal redefinition of hemp that President Donald Trump signed into law in November.
SB 56 alarmed hemp businesses, but advocates failed to gather enough signatures to qualify a referendum blocking the law onto the ballot.
Bars, restaurants and other Ohio businesses selling popular hemp THC beverages had already started culling the products from their shelves ahead of the anticipated March 20 deadline under SB56.
What are the new rules for Ohio’s cannabis industry?
But SB 56 also overhauls Ohio’s cannabis laws.
According to an official legislative digest, the bill:
- Reduces allowable THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from 90% to 70%
- Caps THC levels in adult-use cannabis flower at 35%
- Prohibits smoking in most public places
- Caps the number of adult-use cannabis retailers in the state at 400
- Bans the possession of cannabis outside of its original packaging
- Establishes buffers between marijuana stores and schools, playgrounds and churches
Ohio lawmakers have been attempting to rewrite legal marijuana’s rules since the state became the 24th in the U.S. to legalize adult-use cannabis in November 2023.
Sales launched in August 2024.
Critics argue that the new law will stifle Ohio’s cannabis industry.
“Marijuana will be recriminalized in Ohio, businesses will close, workers will lose their jobs, and consumers will be denied their right to products they should be able to purchase,” Dennis Willard, spokesperson for Ohioans for Cannabis Choice, said in a statement to Ohio Capital Journal.
