The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Medical marijuana dispensary to open
An old gas station is seeing new life as The Forest Sandusky, 1651 Tiffin Ave. in Sandusky, a medical marijuana dispensary for those seeking an out to chronic pain.
Having had its final inspection by the state Board of Pharmacy on Jan. 8, company CEO Erik Vaughan said the dispensary could open its doors to patients in the next few days.
“It’s been a long time coming for patients in Ohio that have access to this relief, this relief that is a substitute for opioids for chronic pain,” said Vaughan during a media tour of the dispensary.
The process to open the dispensary first started in early 2017, when companies applied for licenses and certifications.
A The Forest team then was made with the dispensary’s sister company Standard Wellness, Vaughan said.
The Forest was awarded a dispensary license by the state in June, when the budding business decided to exercise the purchase option of the property.
With construction complete and a occupancy permit awarded in early December, the dispensary is just waiting on the issuance of the certificate of operation and to validate the product for sale.
Vaughan said the process for certifying and validating the dispensary was highly competitive, meritbased application process, evaluating everything from quality control to security.
“The program is set up for success for patients, and not just for Sandusky, but all the producers and dispensaries in the state,” he said.
Upon opening in midJanuary, only employees and patients with a registry card may enter the building per Ohio law.
Patients with one of the 21 state-recognized medical conditions can be recommended medical marijuana by a certified physician, where they will receive a card and will show up in The Forest’s registry.
Conditions can include insomnia, cancer and PTSD, as well as those in hospice care, Vaughan said.
Up until this spring, Vaughan said the dispensary only will sell flowers provided by other cultivators in the state for vaporization.
Come spring, the dispensary plans to expand product to include cultivation from Gibsonburg Standard Wellness, the first vertically-integrated medical marijuana company in the state (meaning the company is licensed in cultivation, processing and dispensary).
Lotions, capsules and supplemental drops will be made available in spring, with concentrates and oils to come to The Forest further in the future, Vaughan said.
Price will vary based on product and availability, but Vaughan said most patients will pay the average $88 a visit.
“That is one of the things that unfortunately won’t be covered by insurance at this time,” he said. “That will be one of the nice things we see for the benefit of patients over time as insurance companies start to embrace this in the near future.”
Currently, The Forest has 4,500 patients lined up to start receiving medical marijuana.
Vaughan estimates the dispensary will have as many as 200,000 patients in three years.
The dispensary will start with about a dozen employees, all trained similarly to pharmacists, Vaughan said.
Although employees through the dispensary and Standard Wellness often are drug-tested, he said potential employees with traces of marijuana in their system will not be automatically eliminated from the applicant pool.
Vaughan said the Sandusky community has been highly supportive of the dispensary with an overwhelming number of people in favor of its services.
Also, he said he hopes the dispensary will have opportunities to educate the public about the benefits of medical marijuana.
“This is not the stereotypical user that you think of,” Vaughan said. “This is your grandmother and your mother and your husband and your child and your friends who are looking for relief.”