Ohio’s hemp laws are changing as state officials and lawmakers move to regulate intoxicating hemp products like Delta-8 THC that were unintentionally legalized in 2018 via the Farm Bill. With access to these products changing, MedicateOH lays out what patients, consumers, and retailers need to know.
Governor Mike DeWine’s issued an October executive order targeting “intoxicating hemp” products, those containing psychoactive cannabinoids like Delta-8 THC and Delta-9 THC derived from hemp. The order sparked confusion, legal challenges, and a rush of new legislation aimed at defining what hemp products can be sold in Ohio, where, and by whom.
Timeline: How We Got Here
October 8, 2025 — DeWine’s Executive Order
Governor DeWine declared a “public-health emergency” over the sale of intoxicating hemp products, ordering them removed from store shelves statewide. Read more
October 9–14 — Department of Agriculture Guidance
The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) released emergency guidance defining hemp limits: 0.5 mg THC per serving and 2 mg per package. Many gummies, beverages, and vapes sold at gas stations and smoke shops instantly became “non-compliant.”
Mid-October — Court Halts Enforcement
A Franklin County judge granted a temporary restraining order (TRO), pausing enforcement of DeWine’s order and allowing hemp products back on shelves—for now.
October 22–23 — Legislative Response
Lawmakers revised and advanced Substitute Bill SB 56 to regulate intoxicating hemp within Ohio’s broader cannabis framework. The measure looks to permanently reshape the retail landscape and redefine the hemp/cannabis divide.
Executive & Agency Action
The Ohio Department of Agriculture and Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) are expected to enforce new testing, packaging, and labeling rules once the legislature finalizes definitions. Regulators emphasize child safety and consistency with adult-use cannabis standards.
Why the Crackdown?
The explosion of hemp-derived THC products since 2020—especially Delta-8 and THCA—created a “gray market” of psychoactive products sold outside dispensaries. While these products are legally classified as hemp under federal law, they are functionally intoxicating and typically untested. Many are chemically altered to be intoxicating, something that cannabis shouldn’t need when grown properly. Where no one has ever died from cannabis consumption, untested and unregulated hemp products have the potential to invite a wide range of potential dangers to those who use them regularly.
Officials cite rising reports of accidental child exposures and candy-like marketing for their emergency declaration. Advocates argue the sudden ban is overreaching and hurts small businesses and patients who depend on affordable and discreet hemp alternatives. The anonymity that hemp shops offer gives fair access to cannabis users who have concerns about 2nd amendment rights and other privacy limitations that exist when buying from state dispensaries.
How This Affects Ohioans
For Patients
Licensed medical dispensaries would remain as the only legal sources for THC under the proposed law. You may also grow cannabis plants that contain THC at home in Ohio and, under current law, gifting is acceptable although no money may change hands for it.
For Retailers
CBD and vape shops risk losing major product lines if legislation limits hemp THC sales to dispensaries. Some are already reformulating products or exploring dispensary partnerships.
For Home Growers
The current proposed legislation in Sub SB 56 would keep Ohio’s cannabis home grow allowances the same, at a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, no matter the THC content. Other introduced legislation could amend this, but currently this right is not under direct threat in Sub SB 56 or the Governor’s order.
Federal and National Context
Ohio joins states like Kentucky, Michigan, and Minnesota in moving to close the Farm Bill loophole, which inadvertently allowed intoxicating hemp cannabinoids. Federally, Congress is also considering clarifying the definition of hemp in the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization, potentially setting new national THC limits.
FAQ
- Q: Are all hemp products being banned in Ohio?
No. The focus is on intoxicating hemp—products with THC in them. Non-intoxicating CBD and topical hemp items remain legal. CBD that isn’t THC-free, such as full spectrum products, may be banned outside state dispensaries. - Q: Can dispensaries sell these hemp products?
If the current legislation passes, only licensed dispensaries will be permitted to sell intoxicating hemp products that meet new testing and labeling standards. - Q: What are the penalties for illegal sales?
First-offense unlawful sale is a first-degree misdemeanor; repeated or under-age sales can rise to felony level. - Q: How will this affect medical cannabis patients?
The medical program remains intact, but patients who supplement their dispensary purchases with hemp-derived THC may find products harder to source outside dispensaries.
Next Steps for Hemp Retailers
Ohio’s hemp law overhaul marks a pivotal moment for the cannabis industry and community. While officials aim to protect consumers and minors, the rapid pace of change leaves retailers and patients scrambling to adapt.
Senate Bill 56 aims to clarify the law as it relates to hemp-infused beverages, or drinkable cannabinoid products.
- Allows the manufacture, distribution, and sale of drinkable cannabinoid products (DCPs), including manufacturer-to-retailer direct sales.
- Authorizes the sale of DCPs at grocers, retailers, bars, and restaurants licensed under Ohio’s liquor permitting laws.
- Low dose beverages with 5mg of THC or less will be legal for sale in bars and restaurants and can be consumed on premises, like other alcoholic beverages.
- Higher dose beverages with up to 10mg of THC or less will be legal for sale by groceries, gas stations, etc. for off-premises consumption only.
- Higher dose hemp beverages exceeding Ohio’s consumption/sale limits will be legal to manufacture in Ohio for sale outside the state only.
- Regulates DCPs in the same manner as current alcoholic beverages through the Division of Liquor Control.
- Imposes a tax on DCPs of $1.20/gallon tax, equivalent to other high alcohol content beers/wines.
- Requires disclosure of important information on the container, including THC amounts, ingredients, and appropriate labels clearly showing the item is a DCP, which may have different effects than an alcoholic beverage.
Stores selling intoxicating hemp products would require a license similar to marijuana dispensaries. This would eliminate sales from gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops, which currently operate in an unregulated environment. The cost for a new hemp retailer license could be around $75,000 for a two-year period. This high cost has drawn criticism from some business owners.
Existing hemp dispensaries that were operating before August 30, 2025, and meet the licensing requirements would be grandfathered in. Licensed hemp dispensaries would face the same location restrictions as marijuana dispensaries.
Additional rules expected for hemp beverages:
- Low-dose beverages with 5 milligrams of THC or less per serving could be sold at bars and restaurants for on-site consumption.
- Higher-dose beverages with up to 10 milligrams of THC would be available at grocery stores and other retailers for off-site consumption. Dispensaries already carry THC beverages products too, with a 100 milligram per unit limit.
- Strict packaging rules would be implemented to prevent products from being designed to look like children’s candies or marketed to minors.
How the proposal compares to previous law
Previously, Ohio did not require a license to sell non-intoxicating hemp or CBD products. Intoxicating hemp products, like Delta-8 and Delta-9, were sold in a legal grey area, largely unregulated and untested. The current legislation is a direct response to this issue, which Governor Mike DeWine called “a significant problem”.
What to Watch Next
- Legislative Hearings — The Substitute version of S.B. 56 now returns to the Ohio Senate for a concurrence vote before it is sent to the Governor for his signature, at which point it would become law.
- Court Rulings — The Executive order’s temporary restraining order could be extended or lifted in coming weeks, determining whether DeWine’s ban resumes.
- Agency Rulemaking — Once legislation is finalized, the often lengthy rulemaking process will begin. ODA and the Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) will craft implementation rules on testing, labeling, and enforcement.
- Retail Shifts — Expect product reformulation, supply chain adjustments, and potential price changes, especially at hemp retailers. Many hemp retailers are choosing to sell off their to-be-banned inventory right now, offering deep discounts for customers.
Senate Bill 56 includes various provisions that clarify the law as it relates to adult use of marijuana including:
- Eliminating the cannabis social equity and jobs fund and program.
- Permitting a person who was convicted of – or pled guilty to – a marijuana possession offense involving amounts now legal to possess under the law to have their conviction or guilty plea expunged.
- Combining the marijuana adult use and medicinal use provisions in the same section of the Ohio Revised Code.
- Maintaining the current tax rate of 10% on adult use marijuana.
- Clarifying the adult personal use of marijuana on residential parcels, rather than just inside a residence.
- Maintaining home-grow allowances in current law but prohibits the cultivation of home-grown marijuana in halfway homes and recovery houses.
- Providing the DCC necessary authority to regulate marijuana from cultivation to sale without allowing undue burdens on these Ohio businesses.
- The bill also allocates 36% of revenue from the marijuana excise tax to the Host Community Cannabis Fund, in perpetuity, to be distributed to local communities that are home to dispensaries.
Additional Developments If Sub SB 56 Were to Pass
Substitute Senate Bill 56 includes multiple provisions, including:
- Prohibiting public smoking and intoxication.
- Prohibiting hemp and marijuana products from using packaging or advertising that is attractive to children, or which mimics other legal products that are consumed by children.
- Requiring ads to be at least 500 feet from schools and churches.
- Limiting the sale of intoxicating hemp products to occur only in licensed dispensaries.
- Expressly clarifying marijuana OVI prohibitions, including passengers smoking in the vehicle, without enhancing criminal penalties.
- Reducing THC potency levels for marijuana to 70% for extracts as other legalization states have done, while maintaining the 35% threshold for plant material.
- Continuing to permit an employer to prohibit use of marijuana and make appropriate employment actions based on an employee’s use, possession, or distribution of marijuana.
As Sub SB 56 Advances…
Speaker Ohio House Matt Huffman (R-Lima) had this to say when Sub. SB 56 passed the House last week: “This bill has undergone a robust, thorough and collaborative legislative process, and I believe we have landed on a good faith compromise between interested parties while reinforcing guardrails for the protection of Ohio’s children.”
The bill’s co-sponsor State Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) had this to say: “Substitute Senate Bill 56 respects and preserves all the core aspects of the Issue 2 initiated statute that Ohioans passed in 2023. At the same time, we’re focusing on public safety by banning, in statute, the manufacture of products that look like fruits or gummy bears that would be attractive to children. And we’re prohibiting advertising that would be targeted to children. We’re making it very clear that selling these products to persons under 21 is illegal.”
Follow MedicateOH for the latest on hemp and cannabis in Ohio.
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