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An Ohio senate bill set to render ‘almost all of the hemp product’ in the state illegal, whether intoxicating or not, came up against a significant backlash from the industry this week.
Senate Bill 326, introduced by State Sen. Steve Huffman on behalf of Gov Mike DeWine, is another in a rapidly expanding list of state bills aimed at clamping down on the proliferation of intoxicating hemp substances, but going far beyond this and threatening to wipe out nearly all hemp products.
Last year, the Ohio Senate passed language that sought to ban hemp products containing anything over the extremely low limits of THC of .5 mg/serving or 2 mg per package as part of House Bill 86.
Despite intense lobbying by the state’s hemp industry, informing policymakers that this would effectively wipe out the hemp sector, SB 326 includes nearly identical language.
Under such proposals, common non-intoxicating hemp products such as CDB oils, CBD beverages and even some topical hemp products would be rendered illegal, alongside the intoxicating compounds the bill claims to target.
Last week, during a Senate Government Committee Meeting, a number of key industry associations provided testimony in an effort to deter the blanket ban.
Proponents of the industry pointed to the significant economic contributions of Ohio’s hemp-derived cannabinoid market, which generates:
$704,782,000 in annual revenue
8,157 jobs with $327,448,000 in wages
Approximately $40,524,970 in annual sales tax receipts (source: 2023 Economic Impact Report on the United States Cannabinoid Industry)
Representatives from the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, American Healthy Alternatives Association, and various Ohio-based businesses testified against the bill, emphasizing the need for targeted regulations.
The US Hemp Roundtable, a leading force against these increasingly common amendments, said in its testimony: “We maintain our strong opposition to this approach and oppose any demarcation of ‘intoxicating’ hemp products at those amounts as the science simply does not support it.
“Strict bans will only support illicit sales of these products, with no enforceable safety or age requirements, which does nothing to address the issues legislators have cited as the need for new hemp legislation.”
With the end of this general assembly fast coming to a close at the end of the month, policy makers are scrambling to get bills passed. Any that are not pushed through before the end-of-year recess will have to be resubmitted and restart the process.
“}]] An Ohio senate bill set to render ‘almost all of the hemp product’ in the state illegal, whether intoxicating or not, came up against a significant backlash from the industry this week. Read More
