YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio — There are a lot of questions about recreational marijuana. Where is it grown? Is it tested? 10TV had the rare opportunity to go inside a grow facility in Greene County to get answers to those questions.
Inside the growing facility operated by Cresco Labs on the edge of Yellow Springs, there are thousands of marijuana plants. Rows of plants are identical in genetics to the next. Plants are selected to clone based on their resistance to pests and disease.
The facility also operates under an extremely controlled environment. Every plant is tagged from the start with a barcode that is tracked not only by Cresco Labs but the state of Ohio. That barcode stays with the plant through processing and sale. Every cannabis product in the state has to be grown and processed in Ohio under strict regulations from the state government.
“All product that goes through here is tested internally and then by a third party to make sure purity and potency meet state guidelines,” said Jason Erkes, Cresco Labs spokesperson. “Products that come out of facilities like this one are lab tested and quality assured, dose regulated and child safety sealed.”
Plants being harvested Wednesday are destined for medical marijuana use. A room of plants was being transferred that were earmarked and destined to be the first sold for recreational use.
At the end of the day, it’s the same product. Erkes said that medical products can be transferred to the recreational side if demand requires. However, medical remains a priority for commercial growers.
“Medical patients will still continue to be a priority. There will be supply set aside to make sure there will always be enough supply to supply the medical market,” he said.
The facility sits just outside of the Village of Yellow Springs. Most people in the community don’t think about it. Some raised concerns about the occasional smell, or water and electricity usage. Others, like Anthony Barry, said it’s been a boost for the community overall.
“It’s brought jobs. A number of my customers have been employed out there because of that. I haven’t experienced any meaningful negatives at all,” Barry said.
He said the most shocking thing to him is how much the sentiment over the use of marijuana has changed in recent years.
“I do every now and again think ‘man 20 years ago we were busting people in the street.’ I remember a high profile case of people I knew getting hammered in public for ‘trafficking,’” he said.
The facility is expanding. It’s currently a large construction site. After Issue 2 passed in November, Cresco Labs added about 50 jobs and is anticipating adding another 25 to 50 before mid-summer. It is currently the largest employer in Yellow Springs.
Cresco Labs operates five medical marijuana facilities in Ohio, which is the maximum allowable by state law. Once recreational permits are approved, it will be able to add a handful of new dispensaries on top of the ones it currently operates.
Finding new locations for those facilities may prove increasingly difficult. So far, 47 municipalities in Ohio have voted to ban recreational marijuana dispensaries.