A Franklin County judge on Thursday hit pause on part of Ohio’s new intoxicating hemp rules for two smoke shops, granting a temporary restraining order that lets them sell existing inventory while a lawsuit plays out. The order covers Get Wright Lounge in Columbus and several Happy Harvest locations, limits sales to customers 21 and older, and blocks candy-like packaging. The ruling lands in the middle of a sweeping rewrite of Ohio’s marijuana and hemp laws that took effect March 20, 2026.
Judge Gives Retailers A Short Reprieve
Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey M. Brown issued the TRO on Thursday, allowing the two businesses to move their current stock of intoxicating hemp products while the legal fight proceeds, according to News 5 Cleveland. The order restricts sales to people 21 and older and, according to plaintiffs’ counsel, clearly prohibits products that “resemble candy or anything along those lines.” Plaintiffs’ attorney Scott Pullins told the outlet that the judge was concerned about retailers that made large investments in inventory and would face irreparable harm without a short-term pause.
How Senate Bill 56 Rewrote The Rules
Senate Bill 56, which lawmakers sent to the governor earlier this year and which took effect March 20, 2026, reshaped Ohio’s marijuana and hemp framework by tightening potency, packaging, and possession rules. The Ohio Legislature’s enrolled text outlines the statutory changes, and reporting from the Ohio Capital Journal notes that the law reduces allowable THC potency in some products, caps plant material potency, narrows where smoking is allowed, and adds new transport and packaging restrictions.
Why Retailers Sued
The plaintiffs say the new rules suddenly turned previously legal inventory into product they could not sell, creating an immediate cash-flow crunch for small shops and pushing them to seek emergency relief. State Rep. Jennifer Gross has joined the case as a plaintiff, and Pullins told News 5 Cleveland that a preliminary injunction hearing is expected in roughly two weeks. For now, the TRO preserves a narrow window for the two retailers to clear existing stock while both sides prepare their arguments.
Federal Changes Add Another Deadline
Complicating the state-level fight, Congress last year amended federal hemp rules and added a per-container total-THC cap that legal analysts say will dramatically shrink the market for intoxicating hemp products. Legal advisories from firms such as DLA Piper note that the federal provision limits total THC in a finished product to 0.4 milligrams per container, with an effective date of November 12, 2026. Judges in other counties have already granted similar short pauses on Ohio’s rules, including a Sandusky County judge who blocked enforcement in Fremont in early April, as reported by the Ohio Capital Journal.
What To Expect Next
The temporary restraining order is tightly limited. At the upcoming hearing, a judge will decide whether to extend the pause with a preliminary injunction while the lawsuit moves forward. If the courts refuse broader relief, retailers could face enforcement under Senate Bill 56’s new packaging, transport, and possession rules, along with any criminal penalties the statute authorizes, according to the bill’s enrolled text. No matter what happens in state court, the looming federal per-container cap means many products on shelves now are staring at another regulatory cliff on November 12, 2026, unless Congress or federal regulators change course.
