The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lake dispensary set to open
The Botanist will be county’s first medical marijuana dispensary
Wickliffe will be introducing new business to the area in the form of The Botanist, one of Northeast Ohio’s first medical marijuana dispensaries.
The company which owns The Botanist, GreenLeaf Apothecary, is one of four dispensaries recently awarded a license to market and sell medical marijuana to qualified customers.
Located at 30133 Euclid Ave, The Botanist is Lake County’s first and only dispensary. Two of the four other dispensaries, CY+ and Ohio Valley Natural Relief, are located in Jefferson County. The Forest Sandusky and The Botanist’s other location in Canton are located in Erie and Stark County, respectively.
Patients seeking to purchase medical marijuana must first consult with a medical professional, who in turn, must then prescribe
medical marijuana as treatment. They also must bring a state-ID and a registry barcode in order to enter the facility.
Wickliffe Mayor John Barbish sees the addition as a needed boost to the local economy.
“I’m very excited,” Barbish offered in a statement. “This is not only one less empty storefront and a bit more payroll for the city, this is a big step for the state as areas that have cannabis programs will shortly after see a reduction in opiate overdoses, alcohol consumption, teen drug use, traffic accidents, and more.”
GreenLeaf’s Botanist storefronts will have their supplies of medicinal marijuana provided by Buckeye Relief, a marijuana growing company founded in 2016 by Andy Rayburn and Scott Halloran. Buckeye Relief will also be supplying harvested buds to other regional dispensaries throughout the state.
Unlike the other three dispensaries which were all slated to open Jan. 16, the Wickliffe location will see a slight delay before officially opening their doors to the public.
Buckeye Relief was unable to offer any specificity in regards to The Botanist’s opening day.
“There are so many moving parts to all of this that it’s hard to give an exact date for anything,” said the company’s communications officer, Leslie Brandon.
The News-Herald was unable to immediately reach a representative from The Botanist. A statement from their website reads, “We’re thrilled to serve the growing community of medical marijuana patients with safe, affordable medicine.”