New federal law on intoxicating hemp products could alter Ohio’s plan to regulate them like cannabis

A new federal law on intoxicating hemp products could mean Ohio won’t regulate it through dispensaries as it does cannabis (Source: “New federal law could torpedo Ohio’s effort to regulate hemp like marijuana,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov. 17).
 
A provision in the federal budget bill that ended the longest government shutdown in history also closed a loophole that allowed sales of intoxicating hemp products without regulation.
 
Ohio lawmakers, meeting in a conference committee, are sorting out how the state should regulate hemp. Legislation passed by the Ohio House called for dispensaries similar to those used to regulate the sale of cannabis. But House Speaker Matt Huffman signaled the new federal law could mean Ohio won’t go that route, while he acknowledged some regulation is necessary.
 
The federal action will effectively ban unregulated sales of intoxicating hemp products in one year, according to a Senate Appropriations Committee summary. But sales could continue in states that enact their own regulations.

That is similar to cannabis, which is still federally prohibited, but regulated as a legal product for medical reasons and recreational uses in many states including Ohio.
 
The 2018 Farm Bill originally legalized hemp and defined it as cannabis containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight. Delta-9 is the most well-known psychoactive compound in cannabis. The loophole in federal law allowed for the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products that are not subject to the same safety, testing, or age-restriction rules as state-licensed cannabis.