Overview
- Senate Bill 56 took effect at midnight, pulling THC seltzers and other intoxicating hemp products from stores and bars and limiting sales to licensed dispensaries.
- Ohioans for Cannabis Choice ended its referendum drive after missing the required signature thresholds, clearing the way for the law to be enforced.
- Breweries and hemp companies, including Fifty West, have challenged the ban in the Ohio Supreme Court and Franklin County courts, but judges have not issued rulings.
- Some businesses are relocating remaining inventory to nearby states such as Kentucky as they brace for potential felony exposure under the new rules.
- The law also tightens adult-use marijuana regulations with THC caps, public-smoking limits, packaging and transport requirements, and new penalties for bringing cannabis into Ohio as a means DeWine and supporters say protects children, which opponents argue re-criminalizes voters’ 2023 legalization.