PHOTOGRAPH BY AYEHAB VIA ADOBE STOCK
It’s almost 4/20, the high holiday for cannabis lovers, and those who celebrate may have heard the news that recreational marijuana will be available for sale to adults 21 and older in Ohio by the Fourth of July, months earlier than anticipated. In recent weeks, Ohio Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) has spoken with a plethora of media outlets about the accelerated timeline. He is chair of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, the state’s legislative committee that reviews proposed new, amended, and rescinded rules across 100 state agencies, including the voter-approved cannabis program overseen by the new Division of Cannabis Control.
The application process for a dual-use license to sell medical and adult recreational marijuana will open by June 7, and at that time all of Ohio’s roughly 120 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, as well as a dozen businesses with provisional licenses, can apply. Callender told The Plain Dealer that licenses could be issued soon afterwards.
“Sometime by mid-June, we could open up access in our existing retail stores that are selling medical cannabis to adult-use consumers,” says Jeff McCourt, founder of Firelands Scientific, a cannabis company based in northern Ohio that operates two local dispensaries, The Landing Dispensary Cincinnati (technically in Norwood) and The Landing Dispensary Monroe in Butler County. “If you’re a medical consumer, it’ll be functionally the same product. But if you don’t have a medical card, you can still walk in with your ID and purchase product straight from the same dispensaries that are open today.”
The Division of Cannabis Control hasn’t made any promises on the summer date. The law gives the state until September 7 to issue its first round of licenses.
Today, there are 22 licensed dispensaries in our corner of Ohio, including Hamilton, Butler, Warren, and Clermont counties. McCourt says The Landing locations will be ready to open sales as soon as possible to the wider adult public.
Ohio voters approved the recreational marijuana law 57-43 percent in November, and the state legislature is still working out a range of details—including home-grow limits, caps on the strength of active compounds, and how revenue will be distributed.
Gov. Mike DeWine has urged the legislature to speed up legal sales, expressing concern over allowing the illegal market to gain strength since Ohioans can now legally use, possess, and grow marijuana but not buy it.
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