And as of right now it’s legal, as the shop sells intoxicating hemp rather than marijuana, said co-owners and co-founders Jesse Burns and Julian Stokien.
“A lot of people don’t really understand it. A lot of people think they’re two different things completely,” said Burns.
The partners say they operate under the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp from its list of controlled substances provided it follow certain conditions. Hemp and marijuana are both species of cannabis, but generally hemp has 0.3% or less THC, while marijuana contains more than 0.3% THC.
The bill “created a giant loophole for hemp dispensaries,” said Burns.
“At this current standpoint, 80 to 90% of our entire business model is shaped around hemp-derived products,” Stokien said. “We don’t sell tobacco or CBD. We don’t sell Delta-8 or any other weird cannabinoid derivatives, just THCa flower.”
The product is still intoxicating. When burned, the chemical compounds in THCa change to create similar psychoactive effects as THC.
Because of this distinction, intoxicating hemp is almost entirely unregulated in Ohio.
There is great debate in the cannabis industry about some of these definitions, the Dayton Daily News previously reported — but the letter of federal law defines marijuana at the retail level based on levels of THC, regardless of THCa content.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Product can still violate state law, experts previously told this news outlet, though courts have yet to rule on whether state law can conflict with federal law on the issue.
Ohio lawmakers launched a flurry of regulatory reforms for the state’s cannabis and hemp sales, though failed to reach a compromise on any of them before the legislature’s summer break. Various bills, including one supported by Senator Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City) have aimed to regulate intoxicating hemp, while other lawmakers have proposed changes to the original recreational marijuana laws approved by voters in 2023.
Stokien and Burns say there are “common sense” laws and regulations that could be put into place — some of which they are practicing themselves. Customers must be over 21 in the store with a valid ID, even though there is currently no minimum age requirement to buy hemp.
“There’s no age limit on hemp, which is ridiculous,” Stokien said. “You’d have to be 21 for sure ... It would have to come from an actual hemp distributor. It would knock out the gas stations, because a gas station can technically put a CBD product in a THCa label. There’s nothing stating they can’t do that...There’s no oversight aspect.”
The pair say that their shop came to Fairborn to prove a balance can be struck — crack down on terrible quality products that besmirch the reputation of responsible dispensaries, while maintaining the ability of small businesses to operate independently.
“Regulators are kind of framing it as that ‘they’re selling hemp to children,’ which is not true,” Stokien said. “This is a corporate monopoly, with lobbyists trying to ban small cannabis shop owners like us, because they see us as competition.”
“We’re more than willing for regulations, no matter what that looks like, as long as shops like us have a fair shot,” he added.
Their franchise began as Western Avenue Exotics in Chillicothe, open for a year. The pair opened their second store in Fairborn with plans to open additional locations in the coming years. The owners also donate a portion of their proceeds to charitable causes, including free meals from food trucks invited to their location.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
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