Ohio hemp-industry witnesses tell Senate committee SB 86 would shut out small businesses and push consumers to unregulated markets

Industry owners, medical professionals and trade groups told the Senate General Government Committee that Senate Bill 86, which proposes limits and new handling of potentially intoxicating hemp products, would devastate many legitimate Ohio hemp businesses and reduce consumer access to tested products.

The bill’s sponsors — Sen. Mark Huffman and Sen. Wilkin — brought the measure to a third hearing. Testimony turned heavily to how the proposed THC-per-serving and per-package limits would interact with commonly sold “full spectrum” hemp products and whether the bill’s approach would move many products into the regulated recreational dispensary system.

Why it matters: Witnesses representing manufacturers, retailers and grocers said SB 86’s numeric caps and the plan to shift sales into the marijuana dispensary framework would cut out out-of-state manufacturers and local small businesses that rely on retail channels, while doing little to stop bad actors who produce synthetic cannabinoids or illicit products.

Business owners described the effect in concrete terms. Robert…