Could midterm results stop the clock on a looming national THC hemp ban?

Could midterm results stop the clock on a looming national THC hemp ban? Advertisement Updated: 11:12 PM EST Nov 5, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Daisy Kershaw Reporter Could midterm results stop the clock on a looming national THC hemp ban? Updated: 11:12 PM EST Nov 5, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Daisy Kershaw Reporter CINCINNATI — Could the results of the midterm elections stop the clock on the looming federal ban of intoxicating hemp products? Businesses on both sides of the Ohio River are hopeful it could. Ohio businesses like Fifty West Brewing Co., who used to make the highly popular THC beverages, and those like Party Source in Kentucky, who sell them, are hoping newly elected leaders will work with them to find an alternate solution to a total ban. Advertisement The ban would essentially bring the whole industry to a screeching halt, come Dec. 11, the day the ban is slated to go into effect. "Once that comes to pass, any THC product over 0.4 mg of hemp-based THC will be banned from the market. Effectively, it'll wipe out everything on our shelves," said Marty Holland, store manager at The Party Source. Holland says most all the THC beverages they sell are above that .4 threshold. "Once Ohio turned off the faucet, then we started to see a significant uptick. You know, these products 18, 24 months ago were really just a blip on the radar. I'm not going to share how much, of sheer business it is, but it's significant," he said. It was a big blow for local brewers in Ohio that started producing and distributing drinks like Sunflower. It used to be produced at Fifty West Brewing. "I mean, it's huge. I mean, right now all the other breweries are hurting. You're seeing that close down news left and right, we're shutting down our facility for Chillicothe and we're not happy about it," said Fifty West founder Bobby Slattery. Slattery says Sunflower was flying off the shelves, at one point accounting for nearly 50% of sales. That's why Slattery is one of many brewers now working with politicians on both sides of the aisle to push for legislation that legally regulates this industry, instead of banning it all together. "The good news is the president United States has been very supportive, and he's been saying, hey, we need to figure out a way to get this done. And so, coming from the top, I believe that was a big thing for us," he said. Initially, the federal ban was set to go into effect on Nov. 12 and it's now been pushed back to December 11th. WLWT was told that those fighting against the ban are optimistic newly-elected leaders will work with them on an alternative solution. Make WLWT a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks New study links energy drinks to reports of heart attacks and cardiac arrest in young adults 16 midterm races are within 1%. What could happen next? These toys are worth buying for your kids, according to Good Housekeeping experts and kid testers Republican redistricting failed to flip most targeted districts