The shops are rogue because they weigh the cannabis before customers and have no quality assurance measures.
By Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal
Ohioans working in the marijuana industry, poison control professionals and religious groups testified in favor of a proposed bill to regulate hemp-based intoxicants and cannabinoid drinks.
Ohio Senate Bill No. 86 requires that intoxicating hemp-based products be sold exclusively at adult use dispensaries, rather than convenience stores or smoke shops. This bill also would impose a 15% tax on hemp intoxicants and prohibit sales to those under the age of 21.
Joshua Smith, owner of Southern Ohio Botanicals in Pike County, said that Ohio’s legal marijuana industry was facing a crisis. Poser dispensaries, or fake pop-ups, are taking advantage of loopholes to exploit hemp laws and sell legal cannabis. They are misleading the public into thinking that they are licensed.
Smith was one of eleven people who spoke in favor SB 86 at the Ohio Senate General Government Committee’s meeting on Tuesday.
Ohio state Sens. Steve Huffman and Shane Wilkin introduced SB 86. The bill would limit the sales of hemp-based intoxicants to dispensaries that have met certain standards, including those for labeling, packaging and advertising. This would apply only to products which can be inhaled or ingested.
According to the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, hemp is legal if its THC content is less than 0.3 per cent. According to a study by the Ohio State University Drug Enforcement and Policy Center from November 2024, Ohio is among about 20 states without any regulation on intoxicating products made of hemp.
Smith said that these unregulated marijuana dispensaries are a sign of failure for Ohio’s program. Without oversight, there is no way to verify where the cannabis comes from or whether it’s been tested properly for safety. These rogue stores weigh cannabis before customers without any quality control.
Fadi Boumitri said Ascension BioMedical is a licensed marijuana cultivator located in Oberlin. There are 10 shops selling intoxicating hemp goods within 1.5 miles from his home.
He said: “As a company with a limited focus on cultivation, our business is adversely affected by the growing demand for hemp-based intoxicants.”
According to Dr. Hannah Hays from the Central Ohio Poison Center as well as the chief toxicologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospitals’, accidental cannabis poisonings have increased by 20 times for all age ranges since 2019. The number of children exposed to cannabinoid substances, such as delta-8-THC, increased by more than 33% since 2021.
Hays stated that children who consume these products can suffer from severe side effects, including confusion, hallucinations and seizures, as well as respiratory failure. Hays said, “I have cared for many children that were intoxicated by hemp products and suffered severe and long-lasting symptoms including coma.”
Chris Lindsey shared the test results for intoxicating products of hemp he bought at a Columbus convenience shop last year.
Lindsey explained, “There was an example of a candy that contained 500 milligrams THC. That would be enough to put a horse into the hospital.” You have to literally take small pieces of the candy in order to prevent an overdose.
Will Kuehnle is an associate director at the Catholic Conference of Ohio. He called the proliferation of hemp-based intoxicants a danger to “the moral fabric” of Ohio.
He said that these products are chemically modified to increase intoxication. They’re marketed so as to confuse the consumer, avoid regulatory oversight and end up, in an alarming way, in minors’ hands.
The original publication of this story is Ohio Capital Journal.
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Kimzy Nanney is the photographer.