OHIO — Even though Ohioans voted to pass Issue 2 in November last year, which legalized recreational marijuana, there hasn’t been anywhere to legally buy it yet.
The state recently started accepting applications for non-medical cannabis facilities including testing labs, cultivators, processors and dispensaries. In an email to Spectrum News 1, Jamie Crawford, with the Division of Cannabis Control, offered an update on where things stand.
“Starting on June 7, the Division of Cannabis Control has been and will continue to identify qualified applicants for issuance of dual use provisional licenses,” Crawford said. “Next, the Division will require provisional licensees to validate compliance with operational requirements before receiving their respective Certificates of Operation on or before September 7.”
They did issue dual-use provisional licenses to testing labs, cultivators and processors that had “qualifying applications” before this week and have begun issuing dual-use provisional licenses to dispensaries this week, according to Crawford.
A dual-use license does not mean the facility can sell non-medical cannabis. Crawford was clear to say that it is just “issued as a placeholder while the provisional licensee works to meet the necessary requirements to obtain a Certificate of Operation and the Division processes all required documents.”
As of noon on June 21, Crawford offered the following data on applications and provisional licennses:
- “The Division of Cannabis Control has received 235 applications to convert active Medical Marijuana licensees to dual-use cannabis licensees
- The Division of Cannabis Control has received 19110(B) dispensary applications. These are additional dispensary licenses authorized to be issued by the initiated statute.
- The Division has notified 46 facilities that they have qualified for a provisional license. They are broken down as follows: 4 Testing labs, 12 Cultivators, 10 Processors and 20 Dispensaries”
As of now, no Certificates of Operation have been issued for non-medical cannabis. Crawford said knowing the exact turnaround time between the application issuance and granting of a license is difficult
“However, current medical marijuana licensees who have already met the requirements for dual-use licensure and have their points-of-sale properly configured are anticipated to have a much quicker turnaround for issuance of a Certificate of Operation,” he said.
When a certificate is issued, the information will be published on the Division of Cannabis Control website. Crawford points to the medical marijuana dispensary map. On that map, a drop down menu for “search by use type” currently only shows medical as an option.
“As a reminder, there will be no one singular day when sales begin,” Crawford said. “We will start issuing licenses and it will be up to the retailer based on staffing, stock and other considerations as to which day they will begin sales. Given the foundation already laid through the Medical Marijuana Control Program, current medical permit holders positioned to apply for dual-use status who have already undergone many of the comprehensive checks are anticipated to have a much quicker turnaround for issuance of licenses over the summer.”
Senior Digital Producer Lydia Taylor contributed to this article.
