States abandoning hemp THC regulations, follow federal ban

The federal ban on hemp THC signed into law by President Donald Trump last week is encouraging states to abandon regulating hemp products and push instead for state-level bans.

Lawmakers in Ohio are weighing “a tentative deal” that would see proposed hemp THC regulations ditched in favor of a blanket ban that appears to have the support of Gov. Mike DeWine, according to ABC-5.

And officials in Florida and Illinois are also renewing calls to ban hemp-derived THC in the wake of federal action.

Ohio moving to ban all hemp THC products after federal move

Hemp THC products are set to become controlled substances under federal law in November 2026.

While some hemp operators say that’s enough time to pass new rules – and that some products like hemp beverages will be exempt – states are moving quickly with tougher rules than the $28.3 billion hemp sector would like.

For example, the new hemp rules under consideration in Columbus ban all intoxicating hemp-derived THC products.

That includes low-dose THC beverages sold at mainstream retailers and at breweries and taprooms, Republican state Rep. Tex Fischer told ABC-5.

Hemp supporters who wanted to regulate products “lost leverage” after Trump signed the federal ban into law, Fischer said, according to ABC-5.

That’s welcome news for DeWine, whose October executive order banning hemp THC products is still held up in the courts.

DeWine is asking state lawmakers to follow the lead of Congress, which tucked a redefinition of hemp under federal law to close the so-called Farm Bill loophole into the spending package that ended the federal shutdown.

“I would certainly hope that the easiest thing for the legislature to do is just basically mirror the federal law and that way there wouldn’t be any confusion going forward,” DeWine said, according to Statehouse News.

Illinois officials drop hemp THC regulation after federal ban

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was threatening executive action to impose a ban on hemp-derived THC in that state even before Congress moved.

Pritzker favors a regulatory bill that would require hemp THC products to be sold only through state-regulated marijuana channels, similar to a rule imposed in California.

“I have been disappointed that the industry here has been unwilling to accept proper regulation,” he said, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

“So now we’ll end up at the table talking about how best to move forward.”

And he may have an easier time.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson ditched a proposal to regulate and tax hemp THC products following the federal ban, as Block Club Chicago reported.

And the ban means state lawmakers will have a much harder time passing separate hemp THC regulations, state Rep. La Shawn Ford told Block Club.

“The state allowed for hemp businesses to proliferate, and now the rug is going to be pulled from under them,” he told the outlet. “People who invested everything into these businesses, they’re going to lose all of that.”

Florida wants ‘illegal’ hemp products ‘off the market’

And in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis surprised many by vetoing a proposed hemp THC ban in June 2024, the state’s top law enforcement official is welcoming Congress’s move.

State Attorney General James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s former chief of staff whom the governor appointed earlier this year, said Monday “a full sweeping regulatory overhaul of hemp, I think, was greatly needed,” according to the Florida Phoenix.

He hinted a state crackdown could follow.

“Our team is looking in on that and we’re going to make sure that we’re getting illegal products off the market,” he said, according to the Phoenix.