Medical marijuana goes on sale in Ohio
Store 200 miles away, sells product grown in Yellow Springs.
The wait for legal medical marijuana in Ohio will come to an end this morning — at least for patients willing to brave the cold in potentially long lines for a limited supply.
More than four months after the medicine was supposed to be available in Ohio, the first sales will begin at four dispensaries — though all are hours-long drives from Dayton.
“Patients are looking at this as a day of celebration that they can finally come out of the shadows,” said Jason Erkes, a spokesman for CY+, one of the dispensaries opening today. “Some of them might have been buying product illegally or bringing it over state lines to be able to get relief.”
Two dispensaries will open in Wintersville, near Steubenville, while one in Canton and another at Sandusky will begin selling legal medical marijuana to patients with recommendations from certified doctors.
“This is the moment lawmakers imagined back in 2016 when they passed House Bill 523; patients legally purchasing medical marijuana and finding relief from the ailments they’ve long suffered from,” said Thomas Rosenberger, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association of Ohio.
Dispensaries opening today include:
■ The Botanist, 3840 Greentree Ave. SW, Canton
■ CY+, 180 Main Street, Wintersville
■ The Forest Sandusky, 1651 Tiffin Ave., Sandusky
■ Ohio Valley Natural Relief, 840 Canton Rd., Wintersville
In order to purchase medical marijuana, patients must be entered into the state’s registry and will need to present the same identification at a dispensary used to activate their cards.
Nine dispensaries have provisional licenses to open in the Dayton region including those in Butler, Clark, Greene, Montgomery and Warren counties, but they have yet to get final approval from the state.
“Patients in Ohio are finally going to begin accessing medical marijuana safely and legally in licensed dispensaries. While this is historic, it is also bittersweet, as implementation of the law continues to be delayed in most parts of the state,” said Chris Lindsey, senior legislative counsel for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Countless Ohioans could benefit from medical cannabis, but only a limited number will gain access to it this week.”
First-day patients should expect long waits, said Erkes, a spokesman for Cresco Labs that owns the CY+ dispensary in Wintersville. The company plans to offer patients hot chocolate, coffee and seats in a heated tent until their numbers are called but will limit sales to two ounces during at least during the first day of sales, he said.
“We expect a significant turnout from patients on opening day,” Erkes said. “We know people are driving from all over the state. We want to make sure everyone goes home with something.”
Erkes said the Cresco Labs’ dispensary will offer 30 strains throughout the week from three growers, including product produced at its own facility in Yellow Springs.
Other dispensaries opening today also plan to begin by limiting sales and will offer only a selection of flower products for vaporization. But as processors get full approval, the dispensaries will carry other products including edibles, oils, tinctures, oral sprays, creams, pills, and transdermal patches.
The Dayton region should have dispensaries operating by early March, said Larry Pegram, president of Pure Ohio Wellness. Pegram said the company is holding off opening its dispensaries in Dayton and Springfield until it has an adequate supply of its own cannabis produced at the company’s facility in Mad River Twp. in Clark County.
“We are just concerned early on there isn’t that much product. We don’t want to open until we can stock our shelves with our own product,” Pegram said. “We want to make sure we are set up properly for ourselves ... It’s a little bit unfortunate, but I think we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel here.”
In June, the state announced 56 dispensary licenses out of 376 applications received statewide. The medical marijuana program distributed the dispensaries across 28 geographic districts, but three districts, including one that covers Miami County, did not have viable or any applications.
It’s unclear when a Strawberry Fields dispensary at 333 Wayne Ave. in Dayton may open. The Dayton Landmark Commission recently approved a redesign plan for the building in the Oregon Historic District. A call to the company for comment was not returned Tuesday.