Two Greater Cincinnati breweries, Fifty West Brewing and Urban Artifact, have hauled state officials into court this week over Ohio’s new rules that would limit or ban the sale of THC-infused beverages. The lawsuit names Secretary of State Frank LaRose and the superintendents of the Division of Cannabis Control and the Division of Liquor Control as defendants. The breweries argue the restrictions could wipe out millions in sales and trigger layoffs at taprooms and related operations.
What the breweries say is at stake
Fifty West and Urban Artifact are among the plaintiffs asking a court to put the brakes on the hemp rules, arguing the changes would effectively bar ordinary bars, restaurants and breweries from selling “drinkable cannabinoid” beverages. According to WLWT, the suit claims a ban on THC drinks would force layoffs and erase a major revenue stream for small businesses. The filing asks for injunctive relief so the state cannot enforce the rules while the case plays out.
What’s actually in SB 56
Senate Bill 56, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine last year, rewrites Ohio’s hemp and adult-use marijuana framework and carves out a new regulatory category for drinkable cannabinoid products. The bill text from the Ohio Legislature lays out testing, labeling and age restrictions and largely confines retail sales to regulated dispensaries while allowing limited beverage sales through the end of 2026. The law also instructs state agencies to write detailed testing and labeling rules for those products.
The earlier court fight and emergency ban
Before this lawsuit landed, DeWine declared a 90-day emergency ban on intoxicating hemp products, saying he was acting to protect public health. A Franklin County judge temporarily blocked that executive order in October, ruling that the governor had overstepped and created new legal definitions, according to the Statehouse News Bureau. That decision, combined with the new lawsuit, has left retailers and manufacturers in a kind of legal limbo ahead of this spring’s implementation deadlines.
How local brewers are tied up in it
Urban Artifact’s website promotes a THC soda made with real fruit and 5 mg of hemp-derived THC, a sign of how some Cincinnati producers have already folded these drinks into their lineups. Fifty West, which lists multiple locations on its website, states in the complaint that cutting off those products would send shockwaves through its taprooms and restaurant operations that rely on those sales. The mix of packaged product revenue and on-site hospitality is central to the breweries’ economic argument against the new restrictions.
What happens next
The lawsuit lands at the same time a referendum drive is working to collect nearly 250,000 valid signatures to send parts of SB 56 to the statewide ballot, according to WLWT. If organizers succeed, the law’s hemp provisions could be paused while voters weigh in this November. In the meantime, the case will move through the courts and could decide whether bars and breweries are allowed to keep selling hemp-derived THC drinks this year.
Why the lawsuit could matter statewide
The complaint asks the court to block enforcement of the hemp-sale rules and shield businesses from financial damage while the dispute is litigated. Franklin County’s earlier injunction signaled judicial skepticism toward emergency executive orders that appear to rewrite legislation, the Statehouse News Bureau reported. A ruling in favor of the breweries could preserve retail access to certain hemp products across Ohio, while a loss could sharply narrow where and how those products can be sold.
