Judge Orders Pause On Ohio Hemp THC Ban

An Ohio judge has placed a temporary restraining order blocking the
governor’s ban on intoxicating hemp product sales, Cleveland.com reports.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Carl Aveni issued the order on
Tuesday, the same day the ban was set to take effect, blocking it for 14
days.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced the ban last week, calling hemp THC products
a danger to children.

But hemp industry representatives say the ban would destroy their
businesses. Three companies, Fumee Smoke and Vape, Invicta Nutraceuticals,
and Titan Logistics, filed a lawsuit against the governor’s order, calling
the ban “unlawful.”

In his ruling, Aveni agreed with the attorney for the plaintiffs, Jonathan
Secrest, that the governor’s order invents “new definitions” for
intoxicating hemp that don’t exist under state law. The judge called the
THC limits defined by the governor “antithetical” to the state’s existing
definition of hemp under state law, and said the order — which would cause
“immediate and irreparable harm” to the hemp industry — “basically attempts
to supersede” the definitions agreed upon by the Ohio legislature.

Lastly, the judge urged state lawmakers “to determine the appropriate scope
of comprehensive hemp regulation.”

DeWine’s office released a statement following the order stating that “Ohio
voters approved a highly [cannabis] regulated market; they did not approve
sales in these other venues.”

“While we continue to fight in court, today’s developments underscore our
continued desire to work with the General Assembly to pass permanent
legislation regarding intoxicating hemp.” — DeWine, in a statement