MARIEMONT, Ohio — For almost half a year, THC drinks were illegal in Ohio. But now, consumers are slowly seeing them back on shelves.
"Obviously, it’s been a rollercoaster," said Bobby Slattery, owner of Fifty West Brewing, which makes the popular THC seltzer "Sunflower."
The state ban on THC drinks and seltzers lasted around five months, starting in March 2026. But after much legislative back-and-forth and multiple lawsuits, breweries and storefronts are once again allowed to sell the beverages.
WATCH: Why THC drinks are back and for how long
“Our retail partners have been amazing, sales have been great and we’re happy; we’re happy to have it back there. The customers are obviously the most important piece in this, and you know everyone seems to be happy they can get their Sunflower again in Ohio,” Slattery said.
Back in June, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order on the ban for several Ohio breweries, including Cincinnati’s Urban Artifact, that sued 96 Ohio Prosecutor’s Offices over the ban.
Since then, several other breweries like Rhinegeist and Fifty West were granted temporary restraining orders, and now there is a permanent injunction on the ban.
“We anticipate that it’s going to stay on the shelves at least through the federal deadline here, coming up here in December,” Slattery said.
Before the five-month ban, Sunflower was the top seller for Fifty West. When the ban took effect, they were forced to lay off some staff and sales dropped. Now with it back, they’re able to start recouping some of their losses.
“We just had to hire more people last week to be able to kinda catch up with this; at the same time, you have to be cautious with how much you bring back cause the last thing you want to do is bring people back for a short period and then have to let them go shortly after because of laws,” Slattery said.
But the question many are still wondering is what’s next, especially with a looming federal ban.
Slattery says he and his team believe that after mid-term elections are over, new federal and state THC regulations will be passed.
“Our anticipation is that they’re going to write a more formal bill that will regulate federally,” Slattery said. “We know that the politicians in Ohio, they already put framework in place that would make this all work. Our problem was the governor; the governor’s term is up at the end of November, so we’re gonna be dealing with a new governor, and our hope is that, you know, we won’t have those same roadblocks that we were dealing with before.”
