Friday deadline set for state response to brewers’ petition

(The Center Square) – The state of Ohio has until Friday to respond to a lawsuit by breweries challenging Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of portions of a bill that would have allowed beer companies to continue selling hemp beverages until the end of the year.

Last Friday, a group of brewers sued the state, challenging DeWine’s “line item” veto of portions of Senate Bill 56 that would have given companies until Dec. 31 to transition out of the hemp beverage business and sell their inventories in response to new federal legislation on hemp products.

Even though Ohio voters in 2023 approved a measure legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, SB56, passed late last year, placed new restrictions on the use and sale of hemp products.

SB56 is set to take effect March 20, according to the emergency motion filed before the state Supreme Court on Friday.

Beer companies face “potential criminal enforcement actions against them for possessing millions of dollars’ worth of inventory that they purchased ...