COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed an executive order temporarily banning "intoxicating" hemp, low-level THC products such as delta 8.
On Wednesday, the governor announced in a news conference a state of emergency due to the "availability and abuse of intoxicating hemp products remains a serious threat to public health and safety."
Watch the full press conference below:
According to the order, all consumer products containing intoxicating hemp must be removed from public display by all retailers, no consumer products containing intoxicating hemp may be sold or offered for sale during the state of emergency and any retailer who has intoxicating hemp must segregate these units from other merchandise and hold them, or a portion of them, for law enforcement officers or officials of the department of agriculture.
Delta 8 is a cannabinoid produced by the cannabis plant, often manufactured by CBD. Ohio doesn't have an age requirement to buy delta 8 since it is .3% or less of THC. Thus, hemp products can be sold almost anywhere in the state, and the government has no jurisdiction over them.
Congress’s Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 allowed for hemp products to be sold as long as they have .3% THC or less. U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued guidance on their website that under the law, the Drug Enforcement Administration no longer has the authority to seize and criminalize sending or buying seeds with less than .3% THC. The DEA has also given this statement to numerous attorneys around the country with the same advice, including specifically addressing cannabis.
DeWine has been begging lawmakers for nearly two years to deal with hemp.
RELATED: Gov. DeWine calls on lawmakers to ban or regulate delta-8 products
Lawmakers from each side agree: no one wants kids to be able to access intoxicating products. However, the Senate and the House have been fighting about the mechanism by which to regulate the products.
We have covered this GOP infighting extensively. Currently, the House Republican marijuana-enthusiasts have been winning.
In short, the Senate has passed a bill restricting marijuana access, one that the House representatives who are designated to handle marijuana policy say is unconstitutional.
The Senate has passed legislation that would completely remove hemp from being sold anywhere besides a licensed marijuana dispensary. This would prevent the grocery stores, smoke shops, wellness facilities, convenience stores and gas stations from selling the product.
The House has argued that this is unfair and can hurt businesses. They have proposed regulating the product instead.
RELATED: 2 Ohio Republicans taking on their own party to protect access to marijuana
This summer, the Republicans in each had finally agreed on a large package changing the state's recreational marijuana and hemp policy, but hours before the vote was supposed to take place, it was pulled from the schedule.
"I'm pretty disappointed — we're not going to have it on the floor today," Huffman said in June. "To my surprise, there was a whole new set of issues, additional issues, which were raised Monday night by the Senate regarding what we were trying to do."
RELATED: Ohio GOP infighting stalls marijuana legislation
Wednesday morning, Huffman confirmed DeWine's executive order was coming.
"You mentioned how it seemed pretty positive that something was going to happen with marijuana and hemp earlier this summer. The Senate said that they pulled out of an agreement that was made with the House. Do you blame the Senate for the governor having to get involved? Whose failure is this?" I asked Huffman.
"Well, having to get the governor involved, the governor has been involved," Huffman said, not addressing that the governor was signing an executive order, superseding his legislative powers.
"If we want to place blame, well, this [marijuana ballot proposal] is a bad initiative and we're trying to figure it out," Huffman said. "You got people who are already set up without regulation and now we're trying to put all of that back in. I think it's possible... perhaps the hemp order helps, perhaps it hurts. But I think we can still get this done before we leave for Thanksgiving."
Isaacsohn blamed the infighting for the lack of action from the lawmakers.
"If we have an intoxicating product that is available to children, the lawmakers should step up and address that issue; I think most lawmakers would agree with that," Isaacsohn said. "Politics is the answer as to why we haven't, which is that people are trying to play politics with this issue."
Have questions? Let me know, and I'll answer them.
I have continued to cover any and all changes to marijuana policy that lawmakers are trying to make.
I also have a series answering your questions about cannabis in Ohio. Please email me written questions — or a video of you asking a question — to be featured in our next edition. Send questions to Morgan.Trau@wews.com with the subject line "Marijuana questions."
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