The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
A Franklin County judge granted a temporary restraining order to allow two smoke shops to sell off their products less than a month after Ohio Senate Bill 56 took effect, which bans low-level THC hemp products and changes the state’s marijuana laws.
Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey M. Brown issued a TRO Thursday allowing Happy Harvest locations and Get Wright Lounge to sell their existing products. Happy Harvest has locations in Delaware, Marion, and Wood counties. Get Wright Lounge has one location in Columbus.
“The judge here is concerned about retailers that have made big investments in inventory, and they can’t move it, they can’t transport it, they can’t sell it,” said Scott Pullins, the attorney for the plaintiffs. “He’s given them, really, a grace period that the legislature should give them.”
Ohio S.B. 56 took effect March 20 after Ohioans for Cannabis Choice failed to get enough signatures to get a referendum on the November ballot for voters to block the law.
Under the new law, THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts will be reduced from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, cap THC levels in adult-use flower to 35%, and prohibit smoking in most public places.
The two businesses will only be able to sell products to people 21 and older, according to the Franklin County TRO.
“Products obviously cannot resemble candy or anything along those lines,” Pullins said. He was not sure how much stock the stores had left.
“If you haven’t gotten it out of state before the law goes into effect, you’re kind of stuck,” Pullins said. “You get caught transporting it, and they’re going to charge you with felony drug trafficking.”
The new law prohibits possessing marijuana in anything outside of its original packaging, criminalizes bringing legal marijuana from another state back to Ohio, and requires drivers to store marijuana in the trunk of their car while driving.
A preliminary injunction hearing will be scheduled in about two weeks, Pullins said.
“We’ll come in and bring witnesses in, but we think we have a good shot at least being able to continue in business through November,” he said.
The new federal restrictions on hemp products is set to take effect Nov. 12. Congress voted in November to ban products that contain 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container when they voted to reopen the government.
Previously, the 2018 Farm Bill said hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3% THC.
Ohio state Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, recently joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff. She voted against Senate Bill 56 in November.
“(She’s) someone that can testify to the legislative process, how it was handled,” Pullins said. “She’s been very supportive throughout the process.”
A Sandusky County judge recently issued TRO on the hemp portion of the new law which allows the sale of intoxicating hemp products to continue in Fremont.
Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.
