(File Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Applications are now open to secure a recreational marijuana dispensary license, marking a huge step forward in Ohio’s cannabis industry. Sales could begin in the next couple of weeks.
Friday was worth the wait for Verilife, a medical marijuana cultivator and distributor across Ohio — and probably also for the around 130 other medical marijuana dispensaries.
“I’m sure every company that is ready for adult use sales and has been planning for this, alongside us, submitted their applications — if not this morning, they are working furiously to do so today,” Brandon Nemec, director of government affairs, said.
Applications are live for medical dispensaries to sell recreational weed to adults 21 and older. Nemec said his company had already applied for three dual-use licenses to convert their existing locations.
“We’ve been going on a hiring blitz, of course, making sure that we’re staffed up,” he added.
The 17-page application also covers conditions of getting a license, such as keeping visitor logs, having curbside and drive-through pickup and utilizing surveillance systems. Dispensaries will also have to keep inventory aside to make sure medical patients continue having preferred access.
His team also applied for three 10(B) licenses, which would allow their business to create additional dual shops so they can meet their customer interest.
Companies that already have a medical license can also apply to create a new store for just recreational sales, but Tom Haren with the Ohio Cannabis Coalition said that his members haven’t shown interest in that.
“There will be other incentives for dispensaries to be dual use because it’s very important to the Division of Cannabis Control that patients are not left behind,” Haren said.
License applications must be approved or denied by Sept. 7, but the state has continued to say that applications could be granted and recreational sales could happen in the next few weeks.
“It will probably be at some point this summer, which is honestly faster than I had expected a year ago,” Haren added.
For those applying to create new facilities, they have a deadline to meet. There is a lottery for the first phase of new location development. Applicants must apply by June 14 to be eligible.
Eventually, companies outside the industry will be able to apply for a recreational license. Still, Haren and Nemec say that the existing dispensaries have been preparing for recreational sales since Issue 2 was passed in Nov.
“We are ready to go — everyone is trained and excited and ready to hit the ground running,” Nemec said.
The state of marijuana in Ohio has been in flux as lawmakers went back and forth on what to amend or keep in the initiated statute.
Individual Ohioans are able to grow up to six plants with up to 12 per household. Click here to learn more about what the law entails.
The House and the Senate both proposed ideas, and their leaders have been arguing about whose policy is better for the state, which in turn has kept marijuana off the shelves despite being legalized months ago.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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by Morgan Trau, Ohio Capital Journal
June 10, 2024
by Morgan Trau, Ohio Capital Journal
June 10, 2024
Applications are now open to secure a recreational marijuana dispensary license, marking a huge step forward in Ohio’s cannabis industry. Sales could begin in the next couple of weeks.
Friday was worth the wait for Verilife, a medical marijuana cultivator and distributor across Ohio — and probably also for the around 130 other medical marijuana dispensaries.
“I’m sure every company that is ready for adult use sales and has been planning for this, alongside us, submitted their applications — if not this morning, they are working furiously to do so today,” Brandon Nemec, director of government affairs, said.
Applications are live for medical dispensaries to sell recreational weed to adults 21 and older. Nemec said his company had already applied for three dual-use licenses to convert their existing locations.
“We’ve been going on a hiring blitz, of course, making sure that we’re staffed up,” he added.
The 17-page application also covers conditions of getting a license, such as keeping visitor logs, having curbside and drive-through pickup and utilizing surveillance systems. Dispensaries will also have to keep inventory aside to make sure medical patients continue having preferred access.
His team also applied for three 10(B) licenses, which would allow their business to create additional dual shops so they can meet their customer interest.
Companies that already have a medical license can also apply to create a new store for just recreational sales, but Tom Haren with the Ohio Cannabis Coalition said that his members haven’t shown interest in that.
“There will be other incentives for dispensaries to be dual use because it’s very important to the Division of Cannabis Control that patients are not left behind,” Haren said.
License applications must be approved or denied by Sept. 7, but the state has continued to say that applications could be granted and recreational sales could happen in the next few weeks.
“It will probably be at some point this summer, which is honestly faster than I had expected a year ago,” Haren added.
For those applying to create new facilities, they have a deadline to meet. There is a lottery for the first phase of new location development. Applicants must apply by June 14 to be eligible.
Eventually, companies outside the industry will be able to apply for a recreational license. Still, Haren and Nemec say that the existing dispensaries have been preparing for recreational sales since Issue 2 was passed in Nov.
“We are ready to go — everyone is trained and excited and ready to hit the ground running,” Nemec said.
The state of marijuana in Ohio has been in flux as lawmakers went back and forth on what to amend or keep in the initiated statute.
Individual Ohioans are able to grow up to six plants with up to 12 per household. Click here to learn more about what the law entails.
The House and the Senate both proposed ideas, and their leaders have been arguing about whose policy is better for the state, which in turn has kept marijuana off the shelves despite being legalized months ago.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST.
Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on Facebook and X.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Morgan Trau is a political reporter and multimedia journalist based out of the WEWS Columbus Bureau. A graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Trau has previously worked as an investigative, political and fact-checking reporter in Grand Rapids, Mich. at WZZM-TV; a reporter and MMJ in Spokane, Wash. at KREM-TV and has interned at 60 Minutes and worked for CBS Interactive and PBS NewsHour.
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The Ohio Capital Journal is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to connecting Ohioans to their state government and its impact on their lives. The Capital Journal combines Ohio state government coverage with incisive investigative journalism, reporting on the consequences of policy, political insight and principled commentary.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website.
© Ohio Capital Journal, 2024
Applications open for Ohio recreational marijuana dispensaries • Ohio Capital Journal – Ohio Capital Journal
