Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has issued a 90-day executive order banning the sale of intoxicating hemp products starting this coming Tuesday.
Intoxicating hemp products are items that contain THC that are sold anywhere other than licensed marijuana dispensaries including gas stations, smoke shops and CBD stores, among others. This ban includes THC-infused beverages.
“I am taking action today…to get these products off the streets and to have them taken off our shelves,” DeWine said Wednesday during a press conference. “Intoxicating hemp is dangerous, and we need to better protect our children… We believe this is the right thing to do.”
The 90-day executive order ends on January 12, 2026, and then it will be up to the lawmakers to decide if they want to see further action taken on intoxicating hemp.
“I’m not going to tell them what to do, but we have to have some control of this product,” DeWine said. “We can’t have a situation where it is legal for people to sell this to underage kids.”
Those shops who violate the executive order could be subject to a $500 fine for each day intoxicating hemp products remain on their shelves.
The 2018 Farm Bill says hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3 percent THC.
“After these laws were passed, chemists began manipulating compounds in the legal, non-intoxicated hemp plant, turning these compounds into intoxicating THC, including Delta-8 and Delta-9, which are found in marijuana,” DeWine said. “It’s a totally different product.”
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