LORAIN, Ohio — The first drive-thru medical marijuana dispensary in the state of Ohio is located in Lorain and has officially opened for business.
The dispensary, The Citizen by Klutch, even grows locally in Akron. The dispensary’s goal is to make patient access easy, fast, and simple.
“We wanted to create a workflow where we are really helping patients move through, so they are not waiting in line,” said Lauren Deland, director of retail operations. “We want them to enjoy coming to the dispensary.”
Instead of ordering from a paper menu, customers order at an interactive kiosk that explains brands, strains, and other product details.
“You can just pick up the jar and put it on there and the kiosk has all the information you could possibly ever want to know about that brand of flower,” said Nicole, a customer.
If you can't physically come in to grab your prescription, The Citizen has the first medical marijuana drive-thru in the state of Ohio.
“With medical marijuana chronic pain being one of the conditions, Parkinson's, there’s a lot of patients that are may be disabled or have a hard time getting around,” Deland added.
The drive-thru will be operational next week and is for customer online pick-up only.
“Hopefully as we get more windows or figure out a way, that ordering process can be expedited. It makes more sense than to order at that window, but right now it’s pre-orders only,” said Rony Sinharo, director of retail operations.
For customer David Breech, medical marijuana is crucial in easing his daily pain.
“It’s helped me greatly with my back,” said Breech. “Right now, I probably wouldn’t be standing. I have fusions in my back. I have rods.”
Easier access will help him even more.
“Days like this where you don’t want to get out of your car, where you have a back, where you’re sitting here on camera going, ugh, it hurts.” said Breech. “These are the days you want to go all the way around and use the drive-thru,” Breech added.
But above all, the drive-thru mimics your neighborhood drug store, which is a major part of The Citizen's' mission.
"I think there’s a lot of other reasons why cannabis and marijuana are viewed differently, but once you get over that hurdle, that stigma that’s out there, it’s no different than anything else we dispense in a regular pharmacy,” Sinharo.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that The Citizen is the first medical marijuana dispensary in Lorain. The story has been updated.
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