In his annual State of the State address on Wednesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) began his speech with a focus on youth and education then moved quickly to a renewed push to ban Delta-8 and keep cannabis away from minors.

DeWine previously called for a ban on Delta-8 products, which he calls intoxicating hemp. The governor said the lack of regulation around Delta-8 makes it "easily accessible to kids in gas stations and convenience stores."

"Just in the cases reported to the Ohio Poison Control Centers, there were over 100 Delta-8 poisonings last year, and of those, 40 were involving children aged five or younger," the governor said, as he asked the Ohio General Assembly to ban the sale of Delta-8 to children.

Why Is Delta 8 So Widely Available?

As part of DeWine's January push to ban Delta-8, Dr. Gary Wenk, emeritus professor in Behavioral Neuroscience at Ohio State University explained that Delta-8 THC became a problem when companies discovered how easy it was to convert CBD into the intoxicating compound that can produce a high and have significant impacts on children’s developing brains. "That’s why this is a crisis, it’s because it is a perfectly legal compound that does a great deal of well-documented harm," Wenk said.

The Farm Bill Loophole

Delta-8 products are legal due to a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, despite causing marijuana-like effects. So-called intoxicating hemp is defined as having a high-inducing active ingredient derived or processed from hemp. The Farm Bill categorizes any cannabis product with less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC (the primary psychoactive component in cannabis) as hemp and legalized its sale across the country.

“Hemp laws focus on Delta-9 THC, leaving space for producers to exploit other THC types like Delta-8,” said attorney Tom Haren, chair of Cannabis Practice at Frantz Ward LLP, a Cleveland law firm. Haren played a major role in Ohio's Issue 2 cannabis legalization campaign.

Ohio's Legal Cannabis

DeWine addressed Ohio's recreational marijuana program, which he opposed before it was legalized in November. Like other cannabis legalization opponents, DeWine took issue with smoking weed in public places.

"I doubt if very many people who voted yes on Issue 2 wanted their kids breathing in marijuana smoke while walking in a public park or on a sidewalk," DeWine said. "We owe it to our families to change that, and you, members of the General Assembly … I ask you to exercise that power," DeWine said in Wednesday's State of the State.

Now Read: GOP Congressman In Ohio Says Retail Weed Sales To Begin ‘Before July 4th Weekend,’ Collective Joy Ensues

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Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Vivien McClain Photography via Wikimedia Commons and Alesia Kozik via Pexels