"More Ohio stores expected to stock hemp-based CBD now that it’s legal":
By Patrick Cooley
Now that the hemp extract CBD is legal in Ohio, expect to see more of it on store shelves, retailers and advocates say.
Hemp and marijuana are both derived from cannabis, but hemp contains less THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that provides its intoxicating effects. All cannabis-derived products were considered marijuana under state law until Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 57 into law July 22.
Before the bill passed, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy ruled that CBD could be sold only in medical marijuana dispensaries, although several retailers throughout Ohio continued to sell it.
Now that it’s legal everywhere, “You’re already seeing more of it in gas stations and health food stores,” said David Radford, chief operating officer of Three Day Botanicals, a hemp retailer based in the Cleveland suburb of Solon.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls from entrepreneurs who want to jump on the CBD bandwagon,” said Martha Van Inwegen, co-owner of California-based body care company Life Elements, which sells CBD products. Many of those calls, she said, now come from Ohio.
CBD users say the extract helps with a variety of conditions, including chronic pain and anxiety, and they point to studies suggesting potential benefits. However, many of the researchers behind those studies caution that their work is preliminary and should not be used to justify treating serious ailments with CBD.
The childhood epilepsy medication Epidiolex is the only CBD-based drug approved for medical use in the United States.
The Columbus Botanical Depot, a boutique shop tucked discreetly into a storefront in Clintonville, sells CBD exclusively. Owner Joe Brennan kept his business open even after the pharmacy board relegated the extract to dispensaries. Brennan called it “flying under the radar.” Nevertheless, he said he felt a great sense of relief when Senate Bill 57 passed.
“I employ nine people,” he said. “That’s a little tiny outfit, and my fear has always been that these people’s livelihoods depend on my ability to stay open.?
CBD products are mostly found in upscale grocery stores such as Lucky’s, but more conventional grocers are getting in on the act. Kroger sells CBD supplements in stores located in states where the extract has been legal, and now is planning to do the same in its central Ohio stores, a company representative said.
Grove City e-cigarette store Midwest Vapor pulled CBD products off its shelves in February at the request of the city’s police department. A store representative refused to answer any questions about CBD after Senate Bill 57 passed.
But Tim Johnson, co-founder of the Ohio Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, an advocacy group that supports legalized cannabis, suspects that any stores that removed the extract will start selling it again.
“You will definitely see more CBD back on the shelves,” Johnson said.
Shoppers also can expect more variety.
Coffee aficionados will soon be able to buy a CBD-infused brew. The Galena-based Backroom Coffee Roasters plans to produce CBD-infused coffee and coffee-flavored CBD edibles for sale at the Columbus Botanical Depot in the coming weeks and hopes to soon have its products in higher-end grocery stores such as Lucky’s and Fresh Thyme.
Owner Trent Lundberg said he had considered doing that for years and decided to pull the trigger after Ohio legalized hemp and CBD.
“I’ve already got a very healthy wholesale business, and I didn’t want to jeopardize that by releasing something before it was fully legal,” Lundberg said.
And with hemp officially legal in Ohio, Brennan plans to offer more hemp products.
“We’re thinking about bringing in hemp flower,” he said. “We’ve had a tremendous outreach for that.”
While CBD is legal, companies that manufacture and distribute it should still refrain from making claims about its effects, said Steven Ellcessor, an attorney for Frost Brown Todd in Columbus.
CBD is available in cosmetics, as a dietary supplement, and as an ingredient in food and beverages.
“All three of those are regulated by the FDA, and all of them have different requirements with regards to labeling,” Ellcessor said.
The FDA has an approval process that a product must go through before claims can be made about its medical benefits, he said, and the agency has not fully evaluated CBD.
Dozens of companies have received warning letters from the FDA regarding medical claims about CBD products in recent years.
“Anyone looking to enter into CBD product arena needs to understand the labeling process,” Ellcessor said. “They also need to be very careful about the kinds of claims that they make with regard to what the product can do for you, or what it’s good for.
