COLUMBUS, Ohio — Applications are now open to secure a recreational marijuana dispensary license, marking a huge step forward in Ohio's cannabis industry. Sales could begin in the next couple of weeks.
Friday was worth the wait for Verilife, a medical marijuana cultivator and distributor across Ohio — and probably also for the around 130 other medical marijuana dispensaries.
"I'm sure every company that is ready for adult use sales and has been planning for this, alongside us, submitted their applications — if not this morning, they are working furiously to do so today," Brandon Nemec, director of government affairs, said.
Applications are live for medical dispensaries to sell recreational weed to adults 21 and older. Nemec said his company had already applied for three dual-use licenses to convert their existing locations.
"We've been going on a hiring blitz, of course, making sure that we're staffed up," he added.
The 17-page application also covers conditions of getting a license, such as keeping visitor logs, having curbside and drive-through pickup and utilizing surveillance systems. Dispensaries will also have to keep inventory aside to make sure medical patients continue having preferred access.
His team also applied for three 10(B) licenses, which would allow their business to create additional dual shops so they can meet their customer interest.
Companies that already have a medical license can also apply to create a new store for just recreational sales, but Tom Haren with the Ohio Cannabis Coalition said that his members haven’t shown interest in that.
"There will be other incentives for dispensaries to be dual use because it's very important to the Division of Cannabis Control that patients are not left behind," Haren said.
License applications must be approved or denied by Sept. 7, but the state has continued to say that applications could be granted and recreational sales could happen in the next few weeks.
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"It will probably be at some point this summer, which is honestly faster than I had expected a year ago," Haren added.
For those applying to create new facilities, they have a deadline to meet. There is a lottery for the first phase of new location development. Applicants must apply by June 14 to be eligible.
Eventually, companies outside the industry will be able to apply for a recreational license. Still, Haren and Nemec say that the existing dispensaries have been preparing for recreational sales since Issue 2 was passed in Nov.
"We are ready to go — everyone is trained and excited and ready to hit the ground running," Nemec said.
The state of marijuana in Ohio has been in flux as lawmakers went back and forth on what to amend or keep in the initiated statute.
Individual Ohioans are able to grow up to six plants with up to 12 per household. Click here to learn more about what the law entails.
The House and the Senate both proposed ideas, and their leaders have been arguing about whose policy is better for the state, which in turn has kept marijuana off the shelves despite being legalized months ago.
RELATED: Republican squabbling keeps marijuana off shelves months after legalization
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