Embedded Files
Appalachian Girls, LLC mainly sells THC-infused sodas. Governor DeWine's executive order threatens co-owner Josh Crosier's business. [Haley Richardson]
From Marijuana to Hemp: The Struggle to Regulate Cannabis Products
ATHENS, Ohio --“It’s not just an under regulation of hemp, it’s an over-regulation of marijuana,” said Appalachian Girls, LLC co-owner Josh Crosier.
Crosier’s business specializes in THC-infused drinks, which are now being targeted along with other cannabis products at the state level.
Cannabis and marijuana products have been the center of an ongoing debate at the statehouse over the differences between marijuana and hemp products and how to regulate them.
Over the past few months, that debate has come to a head, even after the landmark passage of Issue Two that legalized the sale of recreational marijuana in Ohio in 2023.
Issue Two was an indirect initiated statute, meaning that it changed the Ohio Revised Code, not the state constitution, unlike Issue One from that same year.
The initiative was largely supported by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.
One of Issue Two’s main opponents was the Center for Christian Virtue, a religious and conservative lobbying group in Ohio. The CCV did not respond to a request for comment on their current stance on the current state of marijuana legalization.
To put Issue Two on the 2023 November ballot, supporters needed to collect enough signatures equal to at least 3% of the total votes cast in that last gubernatorial election, which was 124,046 signatures. Supporters got more than enough for their cause, collecting a total of 127,772 valid signatures, according to a letter from Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
When it was time for voters to cast their ballots, Issue Two passed with 57.19% of the popular vote.
While the legalization of recreational marijuana is what Issue Two is best known for, the initiative did not stop at legalization. Instead, it also created strict guidelines dictating the regulation of recreational marijuana, established the Division of Cannabis Control to oversee the regulation and licensing processes and created a 10% sales tax on marijuana products that would be added on top of pre-existing sales taxes.
Under this tax, cities with dispensaries expected to receive 36% of that tax revenue. Athens is one such city, housing three dispensaries as of October 2025.
But Athens never received any of that tax revenue. No city in Ohio did.
That’s because of the yearslong debate in the state legislature over how much of the marijuana tax revenue should go to the cities, if any.
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson expressed frustration over the lack of funding the city has received.
Appalachian Girls, LLC grows its own cannabis in collaboration with students in the Cannabis Laboratory Sciences program at Hocking College. [Haley Richardson]
“We also have not seen a dime from the state because they keep changing what they think should go to the host cities, everything from none of it should go to the host cities, to all of it should go that is was in the ballot initiative, should go to the cities, to something in between,” he said.
Patterson said Athens’ dispensaries are bringing in out-of-state business.
“You'll see license plates from, you know, Jackson County or Vinton County or Meigs County. You see license plates from West Virginia. So, it's bringing people to the city of Athens,” he said.
Patterson speculated the city could have used that money to add to the general fund, create a housing subsidy fund or pay for housing for unhoused people, but said because of the lack of clarity on the issue, he does not put too much thought into it.
“Until they fix the problem that they have created (in) the state legislature, then you know, for me, why think about it at this point in time?” Patterson said. “It’s not like I haven’t been vocal and saying, you know, ‘Send us what we’re entitled to.’”
That may happen sooner than Patterson expected.
As of Dec. 9, the state legislature sent Senate Bill 56 to Governor Mike DeWine’s desk. If passed, the bill would appropriate $96.5 million over the next two years to municipalities with dispensaries, as was planned under Issue Two.
But S.B. 56 would also combine stricter marijuana regulations with hemp product regulations, an area previously not addressed by Issue Two alone.
S.B. 56 is just the latest in the state’s recent actions to crack down on intoxicating hemp products.
Back in October, Governor DeWine signed an executive order placing an immediate halt on the sale of intoxicating hemp products.
In a press conference, DeWine cited the state’s interest in protecting children from hemp products as one of the main reasons behind the order.
“For intoxicating hemp, this product has no restrictions on where it can be sold, or who can buy it. Intoxicating hemp has no required regulatory testing at all, and is sold in packages enticing to children, many times mimicking the packaging of common candies,” DeWine said.
Intoxicating hemp products refer to goods containing delta-8-THC and delta-9-THC, two different kinds of tetrahydrocannabinol, which is one of the active compounds in cannabis.
Appalachian Girls co-owner Josh Crosier is concerned about the future of his business in Ohio with the increasing restrictions on marijuana and hemp products. [Haley Richardson]
As of Dec. 2, a Franklin County judge’s order pausing the sale of the products in question expired. It is unclear where the sale of intoxicating hemp products now stands.
S.B. 56 and bills like it pose a unique threat to businesses that specialize in THC products, unlike traditional marijuana dispensaries.
Appalachian Girls, LLC based in Nelsonville, Ohio is one such business.
Co-owner Josh Crosier said the governor’s ban on intoxicating hemp products will hurt Ohio’s economy.
“None of this is a cannabis issue, yet he’s banned all hemp products across the state. That’s a serious, serious problem and has huge implications for the economic and social networking of Ohioans across this whole entire state,” Crosier said.
Before DeWine’s executive order, there was a grey area regarding legislation regulating hemp products, unlike marijuana, which Crosier said was good for his business.
“The grey area is why a company like us has had this success,” he said.
Crosier believes the governor’s ban on intoxicating hemp products is the wrong way to tackle those issues.
“The executive order that the governor put out is a huge roadblock to us serving and connecting with the people of Ohio,” Crosier said.
Along with its THC drinks, Appalachian Girls, LLC also grows its own cannabis. While Crosier wants the company to enter the marijuana industry, he said Ohio’s laws make the process unworkable for his business.
“We have tried to get into the marijuana business in so many ways, but our legislators have set that program up in such a way that there is no true entrepreneurial path for us,” he said. “It appears to be monopolized from the top down to where the people who are representing this region, we were about to be left out of it.”
For Crosier, the state’s overregulation hurts Appalachian Girls’ chances to stay connected with the community in southeast Ohio.
“We want to work in Ohio, we're from Ohio, we want to help the people of Ohio, we want to offer great, fantastic products to the people of Ohio,” Crosier said. “Although App Girls Cannabis will survive in Ohio’s landscape, we should be thriving. We represent the culture, we represent the way people want to enjoy cannabis.”
Click here for more
Click here for more
tut 2_mixdown.mp4Check out the second episode of The Issue with the Issue to hear from Athens Mayor Steve Patterson and Josh Crosier about what the marijuana industry does for Ohio's economy.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse