COLUMBUS – Ohio’s escalating crackdown on hemp-derived THC products is rapidly turning into a major business crisis for companies that invested millions of dollars in manufacturing, retail, brewing, and distribution operations built around products that were previously legal under state and federal rules.
Now many of those businesses say the state has abruptly changed the rules after companies already committed capital, hired workers, signed leases, and built product lines around intoxicating hemp-derived THC products.
The fallout is spreading across Ohio’s hemp and cannabis-related economy as business owners warn of layoffs, lost investments, product pullbacks, and potential closures…