The Ohio Senate last week passed a bill requiring that intoxicating hemp products be sold only at state-licensed adult-use cannabis dispensaries. The legislation passed unanimously.
Currently, intoxicating hemp products are sold at CBD stores, convenience stores, smoke shops, and gas stations. The bill would prohibit sales at any establishment outside of the state’s adult-use dispensaries. It would also impose a 10% tax on intoxicating hemp products, set an age requirement of 21, and impose testing and labeling requirements.
In a statement, state Sen. Steve Huffman (R) said that “Current intoxicated hemp products are untested and unregulated.”
“The bill protects buyers from gaining access to these intoxicating products and ensures adults can still purchase them from existing regulated operators.” — Huffman in a statement
During debate on the Senate floor, state Sen. Bill DeMora (D) said the legislation “regulates intoxicating hemp products and removes the untested, unsafe items that are marketed toward children from corner stores and vape shops and gas stations.”
He described the proposed rules on testing, labeling, and age verification as “common sense measures.”
During debate on the bill in March, Jaimee Courtney, who owns a CBD business in Bellefontaine, said the legislation would eliminate 90% of the “non-intoxicating full-spectrum hemp products” sold at her business and would “drive consumers to unregulated online markets,” according to her written testimony to lawmakers.
The bill moves next to the House.
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