Intoxicating cannabis products and various sweets at a press conference on October 8, 2025 (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal).
Ohioans selling intoxicating cannabis products are worried about what the 90-day ban, which goes into effect today (Tuesday), will mean for their businesses and customers.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently announced that: 90-day executive order banning the sale of intoxicating cannabis products which starts on October 14.
Intoxicating cannabis products are THC-containing products that are sold everywhere outside of licensed marijuana dispensaries, including but not confined to gas stations, smoke shops, and CBD dispensaries.
Todd Hicks opened his novel CBD store in Columbus just days before DeWine announced the ban.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issues executive order banning the sale of intoxicating cannabis products
“It was heartbreaking,” he said. “Honestly, it’s been completely heartbreaking. I don’t know which direction to go.”
Hicks said he will likely have to close his novel store and lay off three employees.
“I can’t afford them,” he said. “Well, they have nothing to do, right? They can’t sell the product. No one is going to answer the door or come to the door to actually buy the product. So I don’t need them.”
Hicks said children’s exposure to intoxicating cannabis products is a parental responsibility.
“They dig it out of their parents’ purse or something,” he said. “It’s not a question of selling.”
Mark Fashian, president of cannabis products wholesaler Midwest Analytical Solutions in Delaware, Ohio, said the ban would put him out of business. It partners with more than 500 stores across Ohio that sell intoxicating cannabis products.
“We typically sell to smoke shops, gas stations, convenience stores or drive-thru, and each of them has a mechanism that allows anyone to leaf through it,” Fashian said. “There’s definitely some thumbing going on everywhere.”
He said stores were concerned about how the ban would affect them.
“They are just worried,” Fashian said. “They don’t know what to do. They don’t know what to do with their products.”
Jim Higdon, co-founder of Kentucky-based Cornbread Hemp, which sells its products in more than 300 retail stores in Ohio, said the ban on intoxicating hemp has caused a lot of confusion.
“Our retail partners and distributors are very unhappy,” he said. “… It’s really frustrating to see the Republican Party being the anti-business party. … To see the governor and members of the Legislature on this front is very troubling, considering other states have managed to figure this out.”
Kim Bryant, a salesperson at Your CBD Store Marion, said the average age of their customers is 50.
“They want pain gummies and sleep gummies,” she said. “People want this instead of opioids or prescription drugs.[…]Older people have no desire to go to medical or recreational marijuana facilities.”
The store requires identity verification with each purchase, Bryant said.
“I would never, ever sell anything to a minor,” she said. “I just feel it’s unfair to people who are doing the right thing when there’s one bad apple. … This is a store that actually helps people.”
This ban includes THC-containing drinks like these Collin Castore began sales at its three central Ohio breweries in March. The drinks contain five milligrams of THC.
“A five-milligram drink is literally the equivalent of inhaling an average joint. It’s not going to rock anyone’s world and throw them into a psychedelic experience, a 24-hour head trip. It’s just a minor mood change,” he said. Castore, who is the co-founder Seventh Son Brewery, Antiques on High and Getaway Brewing.
These drinks do not contain alcohol and are “extensively tested” he said.
“We want this to be settled.” Roll he said. “Let’s keep low-THC drinks. Let’s treat them like beer and regulate them like beer, and everyone will get tax revenue and jobs from it.”
Castore said the target demographic for THC-containing drinks is women ages 35 to 55 who want a break from alcohol — “not 10-year-old children.”
“I could really see these drinks being a great way for some people who need to take a break from alcohol and still have a way to relax after work or have a drink with friends and not feel left out,” he said.
There is a label on the cans stating that the drinks are intended for people over 21 years of age only, and those eligible to purchase the drinks have a card, just like alcohol, Castore said.
Castore said THC-containing drinks account for 10-15% of their wholesale sales and about 5% of their retail sales.
While it’s too early to give specific numbers on how much revenue they will lose due to the ban, he said it won’t be good for business.
“We’re going to go from a year where we could manage to break even to a year where we’re probably going to lose money again, which is really frustrating.” Roll he said.
The craft beer industry faced challenges this year in managing tariffs on aluminum, steel and barley malt.
“I just felt like we kind of had a victory and something that finally worked really well and now it’s been snatched away from us,” he said.
Higdon said some people have turned to THC-containing drinks as an alternative to alcohol.
“People are looking to reduce their alcohol intake or have become sober and have found that beverages are what they are looking for, and taking these products away from these people is particularly frustrating because they end up increasing their alcohol consumption,” he said.
On at least 32 states they have certain regulations regarding intoxicating cannabis products.
Follow the OCJ reporter Megan Henry in Bluesky.
