Columbus gets cannabis
First medical marijuana dispensary in central Ohio opens next week
Medical marijuana is days away from being sold in Columbus.
Terrasana Cannabis Company, the first of central Ohio’s five medical marijuana dispensaries, opens at 10 a.m. Tuesday at 656 Grandview Ave. on the West Side.
“We’ve taken a lot of pride in trying to be the first to open, and really just making sure that patients will have somewhere to come to get safe, clean, cost-effective product,” said Craig Maurer, Terrasana’s co-founder, president and chief operating officer.
Terrasana, a Columbusbased medical cannabis company, will also open locations in Cleveland, Fremont and Springfield. The Cleveland location will open March 28, the Fremont
location April 2 and the Springfield location later this spring.
A one-day supply of medical marijuana at Terrasana will be about $40, said Todd Yaross, Terrasana’s co-founder and chief executive officer. Insurance does not cover medical marijuana. A one-day supply is 2.83 grams.
“On average, what we’ve seen at other dispensaries, a one-day supply is between $55 and $60,” he said. “We believe we’ll have the lowest prices in the state.”
Next toa Sunoco gas station and in front of Woodlands Tavern,terrasana is not your average pharmacy or drugstore. Patients must go through levels of vetting upon arrival before being able to access the marijuana.
After entering the Terrasana lobby, patients must show their ID and their stateissued medical marijuana card. When both are verified, the patient will be escorted into the dispensary area, where they can purchase the products. Terrasana does not accept credit cards. Patients must either pay in cash or through Hypur, an app similar to Venmo that provides electronic payments. There is also an ATM in the dispensary area.
Just like a jewelry store, almost all the products are behind glass — either in a counter or in one of thetwo tables.blue lights glow from beneath the shelves hanging on the exposed brick wall behind the counter, giving thedispensary both a modern and rustic feel.
In addition to medical marijuana, vape pens and grinders are sold at Terrasana, which, like all dispensaries, is monitored by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy and the Ohio Department of Commerce. It remains illegal in Ohio to smoke marijuana, though not to vape it.
Terrasana receives its products from a handful of cultivators, including Grow Ohio in Zanesville.
At this time, patients can only buy marijuana flower at Terrasana, but company officials hope to start getting items like edibles, tinctures (liquid extract) and capsules in the coming weeks. Grow Ohio recently became the first in the state to receive a Processor Certificate of Operation from the Ohio Department of Commerce, allowing it to manufacture cannabis products.
Medical marijuana was legalized in Ohio on Sept. 8, 2016, through House Bill 523. Ohioans can consume marijuana and marijuana products if they receive a recommendation from a doctor. To receive a recommendation, patients must have at least one of 21 conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, chronic pain or post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The biggest benefit
I see is that it doesn’t have dependency issues associated with it,” said Dr. Anurag William Kedia, Terrasana’s co-founder, chief medical officer and head of research. “It doesn’t have the mortality issues associated with it like narcotics do.”
Ohio’s medical marijuana sales started Jan. 16 with the CY+ dispensary in Wintersville; Ohio Valley Natural Relief, also in Wintersville; The Botanist in Canton; and The Forest Sandusky in Sandusky.
Of the 56 dispensaries in the state, 12 had received certificates of operation as of Thursday — with Terrasana Labs being the most recent. Statewide sales totaled close to 300 pounds and over $2 million through March 17. The state issued the first citation for misusing medical marijuana three weeks after the first medical marijuana sales.
Five of those dispensaries are in Franklin County, all of them in Columbus: Terrasana; Greenleaf Apothecaries, 111 Vine St.; 127 OH, 1361 Georgesville Road; Harvest of Ohio, 2950 N. High St.; and Verdant Creations, which will be on Cassady Avenue.
Terrasana will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.