COLUMBUS, Ohio - Four more medical marijuana dispensaries have been given state approval to open their doors to patients in recent weeks – bringing the total number of Ohio retailers to 124, according to a monthly state report.
This number is important because it could give adults aged 21 and older more locations to buy marijuana once recreational sales begin.
Only open medical marijuana dispensaries – those that have received a certificate of operation from the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control – can apply to the agency for a dual-use license to also sell recreational marijuana. Dual-use license applications are expected to be published on the Division of Cannabis Control’s website sometime between now and June 7.
Under the initiated statute legalizing recreational marijuana that voters approved in November, state regulators must approve all dual-use applicants unless there is an issue with their application or general dispensary readiness, such as having a working point-of-sale system that can distinguish between medical and recreational sales. Recreational sales are subject to a special 10% excise tax that medical sales are not subject to.
That means some dispensaries could be approved for recreational customers within weeks, although state officials haven’t provided a firm launch date.
According to a Division of Cannabis Control report on April sales, registered patients and caregivers in the medical marijuana program bought $32.3 million in cannabis products from dispensaries.
That was down from March, when sales were $47.4 million, and April 2023, when sales were $46.7 million. However, the state calculates sales by week ending each Saturday. There were just four Saturdays in April, compared to five in March and April 2023.
In April this year, as in every month, the vast majority of money patients spent was on flower.
Among the sales:
- Flower sales: $19.9 million in the four weeks counted in April, compared to $25.2 million in March and $24.1 million in April 2023, months that both had five weeks as counted by state regulators.
-Pounds of flower: Patients purchased 7,365 pounds of flower in April, compared to 9,232 pounds in March and 7,740 pounds in April 2023.
-Vape oils: Patients spent $11.5 million in April, compared to $14.6 million in March and $14.6 million in April 2023.
-Units of vape oils: Patients purchased 401,539 units in April, compared to 496,883 in March and 393,094 in April 2023.
-Edible sales: Patients spent $5.1 million on edibles in April, compared to $6.6 million in March and $6.7 million in April 2023.
-Marijuana capsule sales: Patients spent $281,975 in April, compared to $381,712 in March and $339,934 in April 2023.
-Tincture sales: Patients spent $202,339 in April, compared to $276,662 in March and $334,712 in April 2023. Tinctures contain cannabis extract infused in glycerin or other oils and are usually applied under the tongue.
-Oral oil sales: Patients spent $77,380 on oils in April, compared to $101,931 in March and $118,065 in April 2023. These oils are made by dissolving marijuana into a solvent.
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A full list of medical marijuana dispensaries can be found here. In April, three dispensaries opened and one has opened in May:
-May 21: Ohio Bound Inc. at 914 Cleveland Ave. in Columbus
-April 11: Ohio Holistic Health LLC at 215 W. 5th St. in Delphos in Van Wert County
-April 9: Parkland Ventures LLC at 2765 Gender Road in Columbus
-April 23: Off the Charts at 3145 Salem Ave. in Dayton
Eight businesses have been provisionally licensed, which means they are still constructing their space, working with their local communities on inspections and haven’t yet cleared a final state inspection to earn a certificate of operations needed to open to patients.
Laura Hanco*ck covers state government and politics for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.
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