Tweedle D's is one of several downtown businesses in Yellow Springs that sells hemp and cannabis products. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
‘Intoxicating hemp’ ban blocked, village businesses still in the lurch
- Published: October 20, 2025
Gov. Mike DeWine’s latest executive order banning the sale of “intoxicating hemp” products had retailers in Yellow Springs and throughout the state reeling this past week.
On Wednesday, Oct. 8, DeWine declared an adulterated consumer product emergency for consumable items containing intoxicating hemp — products derived from hemp plants that contain enough tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, to cause psychoactive effects.
“I am taking action … to get these products off the streets and to have them taken off our shelves,” DeWine said at a press conference. “Intoxicating hemp is dangerous, and we need to better protect our children. We believe this is the right thing to do.”
During the conference, DeWine held up a box of THC-infused gummies designed to emulate the appearance of a well-known candy brand that, as DeWine indicated, could appeal to under-age consumers.
According to Ohio Poison Control, exposures to delta-8-THC and delta-9-THC among those ages 19 or younger increased from 419 in 2021 to 994 in 2024, with more than half of all cases involving children ages five and under.
Gov. Mike DeWine at the Oct. 8 press conference, where he unveiled his executive order banning “intoxicating hemp” products in Ohio. (Video still)
DeWine’s solution: a statewide, 90-day ban on all THC-infused, intoxicating hemp products, that was set to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Retailers caught selling intoxicating hemp could be fined $500 each day the products remain on sale.
But that ban only lasted half a day.
On Tuesday afternoon, a Franklin County judge paused DeWine’s public health emergency order for 14 days.
Common Pleas Court Judge Carl Aveni issued a temporary restraining order — which took effect immediately — that blocked DeWine’s ban, allowing Ohio businesses to keep their shelves stocked with hemp-based products for at least two more weeks.
The judge’s ruling sides with several Ohio companies that took legal action against DeWine, and that collectively argued that the executive order illegally revoked hemp licenses and violates Ohio law, which classifies hemp as an agricultural product.
“Years ago, it was decided the sale of all hemp was legal in Ohio,” Attorney Jonathan Secrest argued. “Our legislator declared this was legal to sell in Ohio. All products affected by this emergency order involve compounds naturally derived from hemp. What the emergency rule does is create this definition of intoxicating hemp, that the legislature enacted. That is a conflict.”
The attorney drew on the precepts of the 2018 Farm Bill — known less colloquially as the federal Agriculture Improvement Act — which legalized hemp cultivation nationwide, and which defined hemp as a cannabis plant with a delta-9 THC concentration of 0.3% or less by dry weight.
Retail candy vs. intoxicating hemp-infused candy. (Photo: governor.ohio.gov)
His and Judge Aveni’s remarks also made reference to the statewide passage of Issue 2 in Nov. 2023, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults aged 21 and over, and then the following August, recreational sale.
With DeWine’s executive order temporarily blocked, Yellow Springs businesses can continue selling their hemp products under the grace of state law until at least Oct. 28, but beyond that, the future remains unclear.
Village balks at the ban
When reached for comment on DeWine’s executive order earlier this week, the message was clear from the hemp-selling businesses in the village: a whole-cloth ban is too hasty and law-abiding purveyors are not “bad actors.”
“I am absolutely all for regulations and complying with them, but I’d say let’s make a correction rather than a ban,” Shane Ayrsman told the News.
Ayrsman and his wife, Sarah DeVore, own Tweedle D’s. They sell a wide range of hemp and cannabis products — all compliant under Ohio law — from plants grown on the couple’s farm in Oregon.
“The state with the highest agricultural standards in the country,” Ayrsman said.
Tweedle D’s sells tinctures, topicals, pet products, drinks, edibles, smokeables and more. Only those 21 and older are allowed in their Xenia Avenue storefront. Should DeWine’s ban take effect, it’d wipe out about 60% of the business’ products and profits. Beyond that, the 10 employees who work for Ayrsman would likely get laid off.
“This is really worrisome for us,” he said. “My wife and I just purchased a home here. A ban would drastically change our revenue stream.”
Ayrsman said he was dismayed by DeWine’s sweeping ban, and said he felt as if he was being punished for the actions of the “bad players” in the industry who sell synthetic and adulterated products — a slap in the face for Ayrsman when he goes to such lengths to maintain the quality of his hemp.
“I know this from seed to sale. That’s very different than knowing it only as a product that you purchased and resold,” he said.
Tweedle D’s is one of several downtown businesses in Yellow Springs that sells hemp and cannabis products. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
In Ayrsman’s vision of a better hemp industry, it’d be one with more clearly defined regulations and closed loopholes that don’t allow greedy corporations the chance to appeal to underage people, “just to make a buck.”
Across town at The Joynt, co-owner Dan Lukasavitz echoed Ayrsman’s sentiments — especially his concern for the future of his own headshop, where hemp sales account for about 70% of their business.
“A ban is definitely not a good thing,” Lukasavitz said earlier this week. “It’d force us to make some tough choices.”
Like Tweedle D’s, The Joynt is a hemp retailer for those older than 21, and Lukasavitz insisted that his products weren’t a threat to public safety, as the governor insinuated last week.
“Everything we’ve sold, we purchased from reputable manufacturers,” he said. “We made sure things have been lab-tested, and we keep those results on-site.”
Lukasavitz added: “And, I don’t believe that a single one of our hemp products could be construed as being marketed or designed for children.”
In between these two headshops are a few bars and restaurants that sell THC-infused drinks to patrons 21 and older, mostly as an alternative to alcohol for folks who still want to imbibe socially.
One of those establishments is Ye Olde Trail Tavern. Owner Christine Monroe-Beard said that while the Tavern’s THC drinks aren’t a “huge part” of the restaurant’s bottom line, any available source of income can make a difference in an economically tenuous time.
“We have a growing market for people who want to come and enjoy non-alcoholic beverages in bar/social settings, and [a ban] would affect that demographic,” Monroe-Beard said.
Chamber of Commerce Director Phillip O’Rourke shared the frustration of these business owners.
“The Chamber supports the intention of the new law to keep unregulated THC products out of the hands of children and to ensure consumer safety,” O’Rourke wrote to the News. “However, we urge state leaders to balance those goals with the realities facing small retailers, processors, and local entrepreneurs.”
He continued: “Sudden restrictions will unintentionally harm legitimate businesses and local economies. We believe a well-regulated, clearly defined system, with time for businesses to adapt, is the best path forward for both safety and economic stability.”
Even some local leaders were left scratching their heads over DeWine’s proposed ban.
Yellow Springs Police Chief Paige Burge said she was wholly reluctant to deputize her department to enforce the executive order without full knowledge of what was expected — nor was she about to go business to business, looking to fine non-compliant hemp retailers $500.
“We are a complaint-driven organization,” Chief Burge said of Yellow Springs Police. “So, if we
SmokeYSVape, located at 100 Corry St., had its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 9. Soon, Village government will take steps to put a temporary moratorium on any new smoke shops from opening in Yellow Springs. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
receive a complaint, we can follow up on it and we’ll begin the process there.”
Burge also said the executive order caught her off guard. She learned about it not from any state or gubernatorial communique, but from reading news stories on her own time.
“Even to this day,” Burge said on Tuesday, “I’ve gotten no directive from the state. I mean, I’m the chief of police!”
Village Manager Johnnie Burns added that hypothetical compliance checks would go beyond hemp purveyors’ storefronts, and would lead to additional complications.
“We do not have a testing facility,” Burns said. “How are we to know what to take and what not to take? And the next question: Where the heck are we going to store it?”
Although Village government was at somewhat of a loss at how to enforce DeWine’s proposed ban, it is still taking some strides in the near future to curtail hemp in Yellow Springs.
Slated for the Nov. 3 Village Council meeting is an ordinance that aims to “establish a villagewide moratorium on the issuance of all use, zoning, building permits and certificants of occupancy for new smoke shop businesses for a period of 180 days.”
According to Burns, the idea of this legislation originated several months ago — well before DeWine’s executive order — as he grew increasingly exasperated with the growing number of smoking-related storefronts opening in Yellow Springs.
Counting Yellow Springs’ two gas stations, an individual can buy a vapor pen and hemp-based combustible products at seven downtown locations. The most recent one to come to Yellow Springs, SmokeYSVape, cut its grand opening ribbon at 100 Corry Street on Thursday, Oct. 9.
“I’m personally getting tired of every time I turn around, there’s a new smoke shop,” Burns said. “That’s not who we want to be. So this moratorium is a chance to figure out who we want to be and to slow things down.”
He added: “Other towns are getting overwhelmed by them. Yes, we want to bring in business, but we have to make sure the businesses fit in the community.”
The News will provide updates on Gov. DeWine’s intoxicating hemp ban and the legal efforts to stall that ban as those updates are made available.
The Yellow Springs News encourages respectful discussion of this article.
You must login to post a comment.
Don't have a login? Register for a free YSNews.com account.
No comments yet for this article.