CLEVELAND, OH — Pallets of THC-infused seltzer cans are packed up and waiting to be shipped out of Ohio at Saucy Brew Works in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood — the latest consequence of a new court order that has once again limited hemp beverage sales in the state.
The federal appeals court ruling Friday restores some enforcement of Ohio's ban on intoxicating hemp products not sold through a licensed dispensary.
It is the third time since Saucy Brew Works began producing THC drinks in January that sales have been halted in Ohio.
Brent Zimmerman, co-founder and CEO of Saucy Brew Works, said the repeated legal reversals make it nearly impossible to operate.
"It's impossible to run a business like this," Zimmerman said.
THC seltzers now make up nearly one-quarter of all beverage sales across the company's 5 pubs.
With sales again blocked in Ohio, Zimmerman said the company will be forced to ship products to Indiana and other states — and that the uncertainty puts local jobs at risk.
"You're talking about now we're going to go back to Indiana to sell products again to other states in the United States and what do I do with the employment base here in Cleveland? I can't keep them employed," Zimmerman said.
When asked whether the situation would cost people jobs, Zimmerman did not hesitate.
"100 percent. What am I going to do, keep them on the payroll for the hell of it?" Zimmerman said.
Case Western Reserve University School of Law professor Jonathan Entin said the latest ruling represents a narrowing of the relief previously granted to businesses challenging the ban.
"The main difference between what the district court did and what the court of appeals has done in this also preliminary ruling is to say, we're going to give the plaintiffs narrow relief we don't give them a free pass to avoid complying with any of the Ohio requirements," Entin said.
Zimmerman is calling on the state to open up licensing for hemp beverage makers, which would allow Saucy to sell products in its own backyard while legal challenges to Ohio's hemp ban continue working through the courts.
He said the company is already weighing more drastic options.
"The seltzer business? Oh yeah. Yeah. Which, pun intended, could grow like a weed," Zimmerman said, when asked whether Saucy Brew Works is considering leaving Ohio altogether.
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