Hemp Producers Take Ohio To Court Over Strict THC Threshold

Producers and distributors of hemp beverages have sued Ohio to block enforcement of the hemp provisions in Senate Bill 56.

The bill took effect this past March and it effectively amended the state’s recreational cannabis laws by tightening cannabis oversight, clarifying regulatory authority, and imposing stricter regulations on hemp-derived THC products.

More precisely, Senate Bill 56 classified products containing over 0.4 milligrams of THC as marijuana, restricting their sale to licensed cannabis dispensaries.

The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit claim the new THC limits violate federal law.

“The moment federally legal hemp crosses Ohio’s borders, it becomes ‘marijuana’ for purposes of Ohio law,” says the lawsuit, filed by 10 hemp businesses, including Cleveland-based Titan Logistics Group, Saucy Seltzer, and Hopportunity Holding Company.

The lawsuit claims Ohio unlawfully discriminates against out-of-state hemp by restricting the use, transport, and processing of hemp sourced outside Ohio, as reported by The American Hemp Monitor.

Moreover, with marijuana licenses being limited and not currently issued, out-of-state businesses have no viable pathway to participate in the state’s cannabis market, the plaintiffs argue.

The lawsuit named Ohio’s 88 county prosecutors and nine city prosecutors as defendants.

Plaintiffs are seeking both temporary and permanent injunctions to prevent the law from being enforced.