Six months after Ohio’s new cannabis law took effect, hemp businesses and licensed marijuana dispensaries are each accusing the state of treating the other side more favorably, according to reporting by NBC4 in Columbus.
The hemp side
At a Statehouse press conference on Monday, Sept. 21, organized by Ohioans for Cannabis Choice, Wesley Bryant of 420 Craft Beverages said his business and its customers have been treated unfairly by Senate Bill 56, which prohibits intoxicating hemp products like his.
Bryant pointed to THC potency. NBC4 reported that state regulators have allowed dispensaries to sell cannabis products with a THC concentration higher than the level set by Senate Bill 56. Bryant called that a double standard.
“Every regulated business in Ohio should be able to expect the same basic thing from its government: tell us what the rules are, follow those rules yourself, and apply them consistently,” Bryant said, according to NBC4.
The state’s explanation
NBC4 reported that Ohio will officially raise the THC limit to 90 percent in October, and that it has already let dispensaries sell products of up to 90 percent while the rulemaking process plays out.
Jamie Crawford of the Division of Cannabis Control told NBC4 that the ballot initiative voters passed in 2023 “established the potency at 90 percent,” and that processors were already making those products and dispensaries were already selling them. The division let licensees keep selling them because “they had already passed the rigorous review that new product lines and testing protocols require,” Crawford said.
The dispensary side
The Ohio Cannabis Coalition, an industry trade group, rejects the comparison.
“Our businesses operate under strict potency limits, testing requirements, product standards and oversight by the Division of Cannabis Control,” executive director David Bowling said in a statement to NBC4. “The only double standard happening in Ohio is intoxicating hemp products being sold outside Ohio’s regulated system with no testing, licensing, taxation, age restrictions or enforcement to keep Ohioans safe.”
Peter Nischt, who chairs the coalition’s policy committee, told NBC4 that businesses that want to sell marijuana in Ohio can do so through the licensed program. “We have laws and rules and a program set up for you to do so,” he said.
Where things stood
At the time of NBC4’s report, hemp businesses such as Bryant’s were operating under temporary court orders. A federal appeals court has since narrowed one of those orders. Read our story: Appeals court narrows order that blocked Ohio from enforcing its hemp law against 10 companies.
Bryant also said he sees encouraging signs in Washington. Congress banned intoxicating hemp nationwide last year and recently delayed the ban by one month, NBC4 reported. Nischt said he does not expect Congress to go further. “What it sounds like they’re asking for is for Congress to legalize marijuana under a different name,” he said.
Sources
- NBC4 (WCMH): Ohio court fight over intoxicating hemp continues (Sept. 21, 2026)
- Ohio Legislature: Senate Bill 56, 136th General Assembly
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