Ohio federal judge issues preliminary injunction allowing ten businesses to sell hemp products

A federal judge in Ohio is allowing ten businesses to continue selling hemp products and THC drinks while a lawsuit plays out.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Helmick granted a preliminary injunction on July 13, allowing these ten businesses to continue selling their intoxicating hemp products.

Helmick wrote in his opinion the ten businesses "have adequately alleged they will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary injunctive relief."

Titan Logistics Group LLC, Hopportunity Holding Company LLC, Saucy Seltzer LLC, App Girls LLC, Modern Distribution LLC, Grayscale Brewing LLC, IHC Investments Inc, Know Naturals LLC, Precision Fill and Pack LLC, and JSZN LLC filed a lawsuit against nearly 100 county and municipal prosecutors offices across Ohio to stop any legal action against them under a new Ohio law that bans low-level THC hemp products and THC and CBD beverages.

The case is in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Helmick initially put a temporary restraining order in place, but it expired July 13 -- the same day he issued the preliminary injunction.

The ten businesses are in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Nelsonville as well as North Carolina, South Carolina, Oregon, and Florida.

Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson filed a motion to stay on Tuesday, but the court has not responded.

"This Court's decision has also invited confusion and chaos into Ohio's marijuana markets," Wilson wrote.

He went on to write the preliminary injunction creates "a patchwork intoxicating-hemp market ... that will harm consumers, businesses, and law enforcement."

"Untested, untracked, and unlabeled intoxicating cannabis products are available once more for purchase by children," Wilson wrote.

He questions how Ohioans, law enforcement, and stores are supposed to know which THC beverages are covered by the preliminary injunction.

Ohio Senate Bill 56 took effect March 20. The law also changes the state's marijuana law.

The 2018 Farm Bill said hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3% THC, but new federal restrictions on hemp products are set to take effect Nov. 12 that will ban products that contain 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container.

"What Senate Bill 56 has done is to exclude federally legal intoxicating hemp products from Ohio's statutory definition of hemp, redefine them as illegal marijuana, and then to prohibit any company from cultivating or selling those products unless the company has a physical presence in the State of Ohio," Helmick wrote in his opinion.

The Ohio Healthy Alternatives Association was happy with the preliminary injunction.

"While this preliminary injunction is an important step forward, the OHHAA recognizes that the fight is far from over, and will continue to staunchly support its members throughout this litigation while advocating for their right to provide Ohioans with access to federally legal hemp products of their choice," they said in a statement.

In a separate case related to Ohio S.B. 56, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Magistrate Jhay Spottswood-Harrison denied granting a preliminary injunction to Happy Harvest and Get Wright Lounge on June 24.

A Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judge initially issued a TRO on April 22 to allow Happy Harvest locations and Get Wright Lounge to sell their existing products, but the 10th District Court of Appeals stayed the TRO.