Buddy’s Lounge, located at 10 S. Court St., announced the closing of its storefront on an Instagram post today. The store opened in February 2023 and caught the attention of many Ohio University students and Athens locals.
According to a previous report from The Post, the owner of Buddy’s, Nick Marie, said all of his products were compliant with the 2018 Federal Farm Bill, but as of March 20, Senate Bill 56 made the sale of intoxicating hemp products illegal in the state of Ohio without a dispensary license.
Buddy’s Instagram post shared the bill resulted in the loss of five jobs with the closure of its store. It is unable to sell its products containing intoxicating hemp, such as its delta-9 THC and HHC products, which are derived from the hemp plant to produce a high.
THC drinks are also illegal to sell without a license, and Buddy’s sold a variety of drinks out of its fridge. Buddy’s still has four locations according to its website, in Huntington, West Virginia; Lexington, Kentucky; Indiana, Pennsylvania and Morgantown, West Virginia.
The Buddy’s post also expressed appreciation for OU and the “strong town” of Athens, and thanked Big Mamma’s Burritos, who allowed Buddy’s to move into the former beer store next door. The comments on the post were filled with disappointed customers and residents saying their goodbyes to the business.
The post referred to its business as a “victim” of SB 56. The bill forced many other businesses like Buddy’s to close their doors, and Ohio residents can only legally purchase cannabis from dispensaries.
“I promise we never had any intention on leaving,” Buddy’s said in its Instagram post. “SB 56 banned our products, effectively making Ohio as a whole a state where we were not allowed to conduct business.”
The bill is primarily sponsored by Republican Sen. Stephen Huffman, a medical doctor with experience in emergency medicine. According to the Ohio State Senate, Huffman “understands the danger” regarding intoxicating hemp and cannabis for teens and young people.
The bill also puts a cap on licensed dispensaries at 400 in the state and restricts the transportation of legally-purchased cannabis from another state into Ohio.
