COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Franklin County judge issued a ruling Tuesday to temporarily block Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive orders banning the sale of intoxicating hemp in the state of Ohio.

DeWine’s orders, signed on Oct. 8, gave the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) the authority to change the state’s administrative definition of what counts as hemp, with the directive to exclude intoxicating hemp products that contain delta-8, THCA, or similar psychoactive cannabinoids. He also signed an order requiring that retailers get rid of their unsold intoxicating hemp products.

Those orders, effective Tuesday, were challenged in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas last week by three retailers, including Fumee Smoke and Vape in West Chester Twp.

Plaintiffs in the case against DeWine and ODA

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