OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 326 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 326’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsor: Sen. S. Huffman
Effective date:
Jeff Grim, Research Analyst
SUMMARY
▪ Prohibits a person from selling an intoxicating hemp product in Ohio.
▪ Defines an “intoxicating hemp product” as a hemp product containing more than 0.5 mgs
of delta-9 THC per serving, 2 mgs of delta-9 THC per package, or 0.5 mgs of total non-
delta-9 THC per package.
▪ Establishes the following criminal penalties for knowingly violating the prohibition:
 First degree misdemeanor on a first offense and a fifth degree felony on each
subsequent offense;
 If the offense involves the sale of an intoxicating hemp product to a person under 21,
fifth degree felony.
▪ Authorizes the Director of Commerce to impose an administrative penalty against a
person who sells intoxicating hemp products.
▪ Requires the Ohio Investigative Unit to enforce the prohibition against selling an
intoxicating hemp product.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Regulation of hemp
Background
Current law requires the Director of Agriculture to establish a Hemp Cultivation and
Processing Program to monitor and regulate hemp cultivation and the processing of hemp into
hemp products. Hemp is a variety of the plant Cannabis sativa L. (cannabis) that can be used in a
variety of applications, such as paper, textiles, biofuel, animal feed, food, and personal care
products. Both hemp and marijuana come from cannabis. However, hemp contains a lower
November 7, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
concentration (0.3% or below) of cannabis’s main psychoactive constituent, delta-9
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Under the program, the Director must issue hemp cultivation licenses and hemp
processing licenses to eligible applicants. Thus, any person who plants or harvests hemp, and
processes and stores hemp on the site of cultivation until transported for sale, must obtain a
hemp cultivation license. A person who converts hemp into a hemp product must obtain a hemp
processing license. However, a person may possess, buy, or sell hemp or a hemp product without
a license, provided the person is not cultivating or processing the hemp.
A person seeking to cultivate or process hemp must apply to the Director for a license,
which is valid for three years (unless the Director has suspended or revoked the license). The
Director, in consultation with the Governor and the Attorney General, must adopt rules
establishing standards and procedures for the regulation of hemp cultivation and processing.
Current law establishes prohibitions, procedures (including corrective action plan
requirements) and criminal penalties to enforce the program. It authorizes the Director, when
the Director determines that certain emergency conditions exist, to issue an order requiring
those conditions to be mitigated.1
Additional regulation
As indicated above, the current definitions in the Hemp Law focus on the percentage
content of delta-9 THC (0.3% or below). Thus, as long as a product that includes hemp meets that
standard, it is considered a hemp product. However, some processors have been adding
additional THC compounds to hemp products that are not delta-9 THC (e.g., delta-8 THC). Some
of these THC compounds are synthetic in nature. The result is a product that meets the definition
of a hemp product, but that has intoxicating effects. The original intent of the Hemp Law was to
allow for the production of products with cannabis that are not intoxicating.
The bill retains the Hemp Cultivation and Processing Program, but prohibits a person from
selling an intoxicating hemp product in Ohio. It also defines “intoxicating hemp product,” makes
other definitional changes, and creates several new definitions as follows.2
Defined terms
Term Existing law The bill
Intoxicating hemp Not defined A hemp product containing more than
product 0.5 mgs of delta-9 THC per serving,
2 mgs of delta-9 THC per package, or
0.5 mgs of total non-delta-9 THC per
package.
1 R.C. Chapter 928.
2 R.C. 928.01, 3779.01, and 3779.02.
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As Introduced
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Defined terms
Term Existing law The bill
Sell Not defined The exchange, barter, gift, offer for
sale, and sale of an intoxicating hemp
product.
Total non-delta-9 Not defined The sum, after the application of any
THC necessary conversion factor, of the
percentage by weight of THC, other
than delta-9 THC, and the percentage
by weight of THC acid.
Delta-9 THC The sum of the percentage by weight Same
of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid
multiplied by 0.877 plus the
percentage by weight of delta-9 THC.
Hemp The plant Cannabis sativa L. and any Retains the definition, but adds that
part of that plant, including the seeds “hemp” does not include any plant
thereof and all derivatives, extracts, material with any additional THC
cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, additives.
and salts of isomers, whether
growing or not, containing a delta-9
THC concentration of up to 0.3% on a
dry weight basis.
Hemp product Any product, containing a delta-9 Generally retains the definition with the
THC concentration of up to 0.3%, following changes:
that is made with hemp. It includes
1. Clarifies that cloth, cordage,
cosmetics, personal care products,
fiber, fuel, paint, paper, and
dietary supplements or food
particleboard do not have
intended for animal or human
cannabinoids;
consumption, cloth, cordage, fiber,
fuel, paint, paper, particleboard, and 2. Includes noncannabinoid
any other product containing one or hemp products; and
more cannabinoids derived from 3. Includes any hemp not in the
hemp, including cannabidiol. possession of a licensed hemp
cultivator or hemp processor.
Noncannabinoid Not defined Any product that is made from hemp
hemp product that does not include cannabinoids. It
includes cloth, cordage, fiber, fuel,
paint, paper, particleboard, and foods
that have been approved by the U.S.
FDA as generally recognized as safe.
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As Introduced
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Defined terms
Term Existing law The bill
THC Not defined Naturally occurring or synthetic
equivalents, regardless of whether
artificially or naturally derived, of the
substances contained in the plant, or in
the resinous extractives of cannabis, sp.
or derivatives, and their isomers with
similar chemical structure to delta-1-cis
or trans THC, and their optical isomers,
salts and salts of isomers. It includes,
but is not limited to, delta-6-cis or trans
THC, delta-3,4-cis or trans THC,
9-hexahydrocannabinol, and delta-9-
THC acetate. Since nomenclature of
these substances is not internationally
standardized, compounds of these
structures, regardless of numerical
designation of atomic positions, are
included.
THC does not include the following:
1. THC approved by the U.S. FDA
for marketing as a medication
or recognized by the FDA as
generally recognized as safe;
2. Cannabichromene (CBC);
3. Cannabicyclol (CBL);
4. Cannabidiol (CBD);
5. Cannabidivarol (CBDV);
6. Cannabielsoin (CBE);
7. Cannabigerol (CBG);
8. Cannabigerovarin (CBGV);
9. Cannabinol (CBN); or
10. Cannabivarin (CBV).
Penalties
Under the bill, a person who knowingly violates the prohibition against selling an
intoxicating hemp product is guilty of a first degree misdemeanor on a first offense and a fifth
degree felony on each subsequent offense. However, a person who knowingly violates this
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As Introduced
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prohibition when the offense involves the sale of an intoxicating hemp product to a person under
21, is guilty of a fifth degree felony.3
The bill also authorizes the Director of Commerce to impose an administrative penalty
against a person who sells intoxicating hemp products. The Director must establish the
administrative penalties in rules, but those penalties must not exceed the following:
1. $10,000 for a first violation;
2. $25,000 for a second violation; and
3. $50,000 for a third or subsequent violation.
The Director must afford a person an opportunity for an adjudication hearing under the
Administrative Procedures Act to challenge the Director’s determination, the Director’s
imposition of an administrative penalty, or both. The Director’s determination and the imposition
of the administrative penalty may be appealed in accordance with specified provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act.4
Enforcement
The bill requires the Ohio Investigative Unit to enforce the prohibition against selling an
intoxicating hemp product or cause it to be enforced. If the Unit has information that the law
governing intoxicating hemp products has been violated, it must investigate the matter and take
any action as it considers appropriate.5
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 11-06-24
ANSB0326IN-135/ar
3 R.C. 3779.02 and 3779.99.
4 R.C. 3779.04 and 3779.05.
5 R.C. 3779.03, 5502.01, 5502.13, and 5502.14.
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As Introduced