Ohio hemp-beverage repeal bid stalls, won’t reach statewide ballot

A push to overturn Ohio’s ban on intoxicating hemp products, including THC/CBD beverages, failed to gather the required signatures by the March 19 deadline, leaving SB 56 intact. Organizers said time constraints limited their effort to collect more than 248,000 valid signatures from at least 44 counties, and Gov. DeWine’s veto removed a beverage carve-out from the measure. With no ballot measure, Ohio remains unable to overturn the law via a referendum, a feat not achieved since 2011.