Tweedle D's is one of several downtown businesses in Yellow Springs that sells hemp and cannabis products. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
Tweedle D’s joins referendum effort
- Published: February 28, 2026
Downtown store Tweedle D’s is currently collecting signatures for a statewide referendum effort that aims to overturn some parts of Ohio’s recently passed marijuana and hemp law, which moved through the Legislature last year as Senate Bill 56.
Owner Shane Ayrsman said the store — which sells lower-THC hemp and cannabis products that, before the passage of SB 56, were allowed under Ohio law — began serving as a signing location after referendum advocates reached out.
“We were solicited,” Ayrsman said. “They contacted us; a lot of people in this industry know us and know we’re trying to do the right thing, and we have a huge pass-through, because Yellow Springs is hot in the spotlight. So it doesn’t hurt that we have lots of traffic coming through town.”
Since Tweedle D’s started collecting signatures last week, there’s reportedly been a strong response: Ayrsman said he figures the store has gathered more signatures than any other location in the state so far.
The referendum campaign is backed by the group Ohioans for Cannabis Choice, which aims to repeal Sections 1, 2 and 3 of SB 56. Those sections are at the core of the new law’s changes to state cannabis regulations; included in the sections are updated restrictions on what the state calls “intoxicating hemp” products — what Tweedle D’s sells — and tighter THC and possession rules. The new restrictions go beyond what voters approved in 2023.
According to lawmakers, SB 56 was intended to shore up restrictions around marijuana and intoxicating hemp, with an explicit goal of keeping the products out of the hands of minors. Gov. Mike DeWine signed SB 56 into law Dec. 19, 2025.
As the News reported last fall, Ayrsman and other local hemp retailers were already wading through uncertain waters after DeWine passed an executive order to temporarily ban intoxicating hemp products statewide. A Franklin County judge quickly blocked the order, which kept Tweedle D’s closed for a day. Even that brief closure, Ayrsman said, rattled some local customers.
“It stressed them out,” he said. “A lot of our customers aren’t ‘partiers.’ What we’re doing is just regulating the endocannabinoid system that’s within our body with external cannabinoids that come from this plant.”
Ayrsman said customers often come in seeking relief from sleep problems, stress and anxiety, as well as topical pain and inflammation. In his view, the public’s desire for legal access to cannabis and hemp-derived products was already made clear when Ohio voters approved recreational use via Issue 2 in 2023.
“Ohioans want this,” Ayrsman said.
Supporters of SB 56 have described the law as a way to close what they believe is a loophole that allows intoxicating hemp products — including gummies and vape items — to be sold outside the state’s dispensary system. As the News reported last year, Gov. DeWine cited Ohio Poison Control data showing increased exposures among youth and said intoxicating hemp products are “dangerous” and need to be kept away from children.
But Ayrsman, who said he supports licensing and strict regulations overall, said he believes the law takes too broad an approach and, in the process, penalizes businesses he considers responsible operators.
“There are parts of this bill that I will 100% agree with,” he said. “You need licensing. You need to have permission from the municipality.”
At Tweedle D’s, Ayrsman said, entry is already restricted by age, requiring potential customers to present their IDs at a roped-off entrance, adding that the business aims to avoid packaging and displays that could appeal to children.
“There’s no chance that a kid’s going to get in there and get this stuff from us,” he said.
Ayrsman described the products Tweedle D’s sells as a lower potency option — “a light beer … rather than top shelf liquor,” he said — than the higher-THC products sold in marijuana dispensaries. A previous version of SB 56 would have provided a pathway for shops like Tweedle D’s to receive licensure as a legally distinct hemp dispensary. Ayrsman said that’s a measure he would have supported.
“Because it solves the problem,” he said. “It gets it out of the gas stations, gets it out of smoke shops. You’d have to have a license, and you’d have to maintain that license.”
That provision was removed from the law’s final language, however, and the law is set to go into effect on March 20, 90 days from when it was signed by Gov. DeWine. If referendum advocates collect enough signatures by then, the law’s effects will be stayed until the referendum is voted on in November.
Ayrsman said that, if the law stands, it would severely limit what the store can sell. If intoxicating hemp is pushed into Ohio’s dispensaries, businesses like his would probably need to pivot toward non-intoxicating products, such as CBD and other legally available items.
“You could still do the therapeutic, but not the psychoactive stuff,” Ayrsman said.
But Ayrsman said he doesn’t envision a good, one-to-one replacement for the current business model if the law stands.
“The only plan B would be to scale the store down,” he said, adding that the shift would come with major uncertainty about whether the shop could continue operating.
Tweedle D’s employs seven people, and Ayrsman said it’s likely most of those positions would disappear if the business is forced to downsize.
Hypatia McLellan, who works at Tweedle D’s, said she’s lived in Yellow Springs her whole life and has managed to keep full-time work in town, which she noted isn’t common in what she described as a “bedroom community in a lot of ways.”
“If you choose to live here, you’re usually choosing to commute somewhere else for work,” she said. “So I don’t take it for granted.”
McLellan said she started working at Tweedle D’s after first shopping there, and that it “felt like a naturally great fit.”
“It would be a big bummer if that gets taken away,” she said.
As she’s collected petition signatures in the store over the last several days, McLellan said she’s gotten a good idea of how far folks travel to come to Tweedle D’s.
“Today alone, I’ve probably had people from five counties,” she said.
Tweedle D’s is planning a “final push” for petition signatures during an in-store event Friday, March 13, from 6–9 p.m., McLellan said. The event will feature mocktails, music and petition signing.
“Our goal is collecting as many signatures as possible,” she said.
McLellan said the event will include music from DJ Creepingbear and a collaboration with Chef Van of MAZU, with mocktails and snacks infused with a selection of the store’s THC liquids — products she said the shop “would have to say goodbye to” if the law stands.
The event will be free, open to ages 21 and over, and held at the Tweedle D’s storefront on Xenia Avenue. Attendees must bring ID and be registered Ohio voters to sign the petition.
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