We are calling on all Hemp Supporters in Ohio – and anyone with friends, customers, or social media contacts in the Buckeye State – to help us block a last-minute effort to ban from retail sale all full spectrum hemp products.

Last month, Ohio voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum to provide for the provision of adult-use marijuana.  It is scheduled to take effect this Thursday, December 7.  In an effort to refine the scope of this referendum, Governor Mike DeWine and legislative leaders have introduced comprehensive legislation to regulate all cannabis in the state. This bill was adopted by a legislative committee and has been set on a fast track, with the intention of securing passage before Thursday.

Unfortunately, the bill has dangerous language that would ban the retail sale of all full spectrum hemp, whether intoxicating or not.  Specifically, the legislation would prohibit the retail sale of any hemp product that contains more than 0.5 milligram of delta-9 THC per serving, and more than 2 milligrams of D9 per product.  It would also ban from retail all other THCs, including delta-8, without limitation. Even more ridiculous, it imposes the same restrictions on topical hemp products, as if consumers are in danger of ingesting CBD lotions.

This, of course, would devastate the hemp industry in Ohio, and set back years of efforts in the state to support hemp farmers.  This surely was not the intention of Ohio voters.

To stop this misguided effort, we have set up a VoterVoice campaign to empower Ohio Hemp Supporters to email their state legislators to put on hold this effort to ban the retail sale of most hemp extract products.  This campaign will urge the legislature to meet with hemp industry leaders to develop a strategy that addresses their concerns about consumer safety in a manner that protects hemp farmers.  We will be urging them to look south of the Ohio River to Kentucky’s shining example of the appropriate treatment of hemp, where intoxication benchmarks are based on science, and where potentially impairing products are not banned, but rather regulated and kept out of the hands of children.

If you live or work in Ohio, please use our State Action Center to send your message to the Ohio legislature. Our technology makes it super easy. Once you input your zip code, the appropriate email or state petition will populate— with the legislator’s offices already identified and an editable message prepared. With a simple click of the button, lawmakers will hear your voice loud and clear.

Even if you aren’t an Ohio resident or business, please share this page with your friends, colleagues, customers, and social media contacts in the state. Help us build our Hemp Supporter armies to assist us in these battles, which have a national impact.