Ohio is now largely on track to ban all intoxicating hemp Friday, including hemp-infused THC and CBD beverages, with an effort to overturn the law short on the signatures necessary for the ballot.
March 19 was the deadline to stay some measures in Senate Bill 56 by a statewide referendum. Signature gatherers needed to collect more than 248,000 valid signatures from at least 44 of the state’s 88 counties, but they say they ran out of time.
“We were not able to overcome a truncated time period to give voters the chance to say no to government overreach,” Ohioans for Cannabis Choice spokesperson Dennis Willard said over text. “This doesn’t change the reality that marijuana will be re-criminalized in Ohio, businesses will close, workers will lose their jobs and consumers will be denied their right to products they should be able to purchase.”
Willard declined to say how many signatures Ohioans for Cannabis Choice got.
The final SB 56 banned most intoxicating hemp, but gave drinkable THC and CBD more leeway, mirroring the timeline of recent federal action against hemp. Gov. Mike DeWine used a line item veto, however, to strike the measure carving out beverages, saying it would cause more confusion. Several businesses that make and sell hemp-infused beverages, like Fifty West Brewing, have sued over that.
DeWine said in February advocates should take the win they had in 2023.
“Instead of now going back and whining about something the legislature has done, which frankly I think is very consistent with what the average voter was thinking,” DeWine said.
Ohioans haven’t overturned a law via the ballot since 2011, when they voted to overturn Senate Bill 5, which restricted collective bargaining by public sector unions, from police unions to teachers unions.
This is breaking news. Check back for more.
