Ohio Senate unanimously passes bill regulating hemp products

A bill banning intoxicating hemp products from being sold in gas stations, convenience stores or anywhere else outside of a licensed dispensary passed the Ohio Senate 33-0 this week (Source: “Ohio Senate votes to confine intoxicating hemp to dispensaries, make sales 21+,” Dayton Daily News, April 30).

Senate Bill 86, now heads to the Ohio House for further consideration. It’s the latest in a growing line of otherwise stalled attempts to regulate intoxicating hemp in Ohio.
 
The bill targets “intoxicating hemp products,” defined as any product with more than two milligrams of delta-9 THC (the psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana) or more than 0.5 milligrams of any other “non-delta-9 THC” (like delta-8 or THCA, which can also make users feel high) per package.
 
Under current law, those products — derived from hemp and protected under the federal Farm Bill — can be sold just about anywhere in the state and to anyone at the seller’s discretion.

Such products are often sold in gas stations, convenience stores or CBD stores, and have frequently been targeted by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and other opponents for their potential appeal to children through colorful packaging and subliminal branding.