© 2024 WYSO
Our Community. Our Nation. Our World.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Ohio Legislature Passes Bill To Legalize Hemp And CBD Oil

Columbus store selling CBD oils
Jo Ingles
Columbus store selling CBD oils

Most of the attention on lawmakers has focused on their approval of a state budget 17 days after the deadline. But they also passed a bill to decriminalize hemp and license its cultivation. 

Republican Representative Kyle Koehler says Ohio is one of a handful of states that haven’t allowed hemp cultivation. 

"It is imperative that Ohio moves quickly so that our farmers can take advantage of a domestic hemp marketplace and catch up with our neighboring states," Koehler says.

The bill, which easily passed in the House and Senate, also legalizes the sales of CBD oil which is derived from hemp. The products must limit the level of THC, the compound that gives marijuana its high. Ohio farmers and the business community backed the bill. Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to sign it into law soon.

Copyright 2020 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.
Related Content