Slow Burn: Ohio Cannabis Shops Ready to Open

More than 100 dispensaries in Ohio are on their way to selling recreational marijuana.

The Division of Cannabis Control has granted 110 dispensaries provisional licenses to sell medical and recreational products once they receive final approval.

Of the 110, Northeast Ohio has 36, Southwest Ohio has 29, and Central Ohio has 18. Franklin County has the most with 12, Cuyahoga has 11, and Hamilton has nine.

Click here to learn which facilities have a provisional license.

License applications must be approved or denied by Sept. 7, but the state and policymakers have continued to say that applications could be granted and recreational sales could happen by mid-June.

The passage of Issue 2 allowed adults 21 years of age and older to smoke, vape and ingest weed. According to media reports, Ohioans can grow up to six plants with up to 12 per household.

Ohio Cannabis Coalition’s Tom Haren is staying positive despite the delayed start date. “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Haren said. “There is a lot of work that needed to get done.”

Consumers haven’t been able to buy weed legally because there is a process that takes place between getting a provisional license and getting a license with a certificate of operation.

The state has a list of requirements that shops need to meet, such as keeping visitor logs, having curbside and drive-through pickup and utilizing surveillance systems. Dispensaries will also have to demonstrate they can keep inventory aside to make sure medical patients continue having preferred access. Sellers will also have to do a test sale to a medical patient and a recreational consumer, among dozens of other tasks and evaluations.