Cannabis Business Times
Four stakeholders in Ohio’s hemp-derived beverage market filed a lawsuit on March 6 in the state’s Supreme Court to stop what they call Gov. Mike DeWine’s “lawless executive overreach.”
The stakeholders are asking the high court to undo DeWine’s line-item veto of a carve-out for “drinkable cannabinoid products” (DCPs) that would have allowed hemp beverages to continue to exist in Ohio’s marketplace through the end of 2026, as intended by Ohio lawmakers with the passage of Senate Bill 56.
When the Ohio Legislature sent the governor that legislation in December, the goal was to align the state’s hemp laws with those of a forthcoming federal ban on intoxicating hemp products, which will take effect later this year.
Although Ohio lawmakers originally planned to create a permanent program for DCPs to be sold at places like grocery and liquor stores, they instead amended S.B. 56 to align with the federal ban by establishing a temporary program to allow businesses to continue to sell hemp beverages containing up to 5 milligrams of THC in Ohio until Dec. 31, 2026.
This would have provided a one-year off-ramp for companies to move their product inventory through the supply chain while they transition their businesses.
However, DeWine line-item vetoed that provision when he signed the bill in December, making it so that hemp-derived beverages would become prohibited by March 20 in the Buckeye State.
