Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs bill legalizing CBD, hemp: What happens next?

“A big relief.”

That’s how Dave Arend described the new law effectively ending CBD prohibition in Ohio, which had led to some restless nights for the owner of Your CBD Store in Anderson Township.

Arend opened the store July 1, fully aware that the sale of cannabidiol in Ohio was still illegal outside state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. The hemp-derived CBD products that Arend sells contain only trace amounts of THC, the substance in cannabis plants that gets you high.

Just six months earlier, state and local officials had cracked down on retailers selling CBD products, forcing them to remove, or “embargo,’’ the products from store shelves.

But that changed Tuesday.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed Ohio’s hemp legalization bill, Senate Bill 57, into law on Tuesday at the Ohio State Fair.

The law takes effect immediately, freeing all embargoes on CBD inventory and moving hemp-derived cannabidiol off Ohio’s controlled substances list. It also means Ohio State University and other colleges can grow the state’s first hemp this summer.

Arend expects a rush of new customers as a result of the new state law.

“I think this removes the stigma that what we sell is medical marijuana,’’ Arend said. “It’s not, and we definitely anticipate a lot more customers who want the benefit of CBD without the high of medical marijuana.’’ [Read More @ Cincinnati.com]