COLUMBUS, Ohio — Monday’s decision to allow dual licensing to medical marijuana dispensaries to sell recreational marijuana may mean sooner sales of the product.
Adult-use sales have been up in the air since Issue 2 passed and took effect in December. Ohioans over the age of 21 have been able to possess and grow marijuana legally since then, but there haven’t been legal places to purchase it.
Governor Mike DeWine and some other state leaders have expressed concerns about illegal black market sales during this period of limbo.
The Division of Cannabis Control said applications for recreational dispensaries will be available no later than June 7.
Dispensaries like Chicago-based Cresco Labs are preparing for those applications to open whenever that may be. Cresco Labs currently operates five medical marijuana facilities in Ohio.
“It's been kind of a moving target. I think the law said September or August and now we're in June maybe July,” said Jason Erkes, a Cresco Labs spokesperson. “We know there will be a lot of questions as people make their first legal sale in the state, so we want to make sure we are ready and give people a good experience their first time.”
The sooner applications are made available and approved, the sooner recreational sales can happen.
Erkes said they’re applying what they’ve learned in other states where they’ve gone through a similar transition.
“What we’ve learned is to expect the unexpected. You can be ready on day one and you never know exactly how thing are going to go,” he said.
He said they’re preparing to have enough product for those beginning days, even if that means moving medical product over to the recreational side since it’s the same thing.
One person who talked with 10TV Tuesday said the sooner the better.
“A lot of people are travelling out of state to Michigan and those places. All the tax revenue for Ohio is headed upstate and it's better to keep it here in the state,” said Joshua Jones.
Jones added that it will also cut down on the unknowns of illegal weed.
“You don't have any access to data and the shelf life, so to bring a cleaner and more regulated product is better for Ohioans,” he said.
Currently, it is still illegal to purchase recreational marijuana in Ohio. It’s also illegal to transport marijuana across state lines, even from a legal state.