SHERWOOD, Ohio —
Recreational marijuana sales in Ohio have been sky-high since hitting shelves on Aug. 6. In the first four days, the state saw more than $11.5 million in sales.
In the second week, there were more than $10.9 million in sales, making for a total of nearly $22.5 million in sales in the first two weeks.
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"We're seeing probably on some days maybe five or 10 times more customers than we're used to," said Brandon Pollock, CEO of Theory Wellness in Sherwood.
He says recreational weed sales have already surpassed the Defiance County dispensary's medicinal sales and that business has been so busy he's hired 14 new employees.
Theory Wellness has also added more registers and expanded its hours, now open 12 hours a day.
"We weren't even open Sundays before because it was so quiet, but now we're open Sundays," Pollock said.
It is not just Ohioans who are enjoying the budding business, either.
Being less than 30 minutes from the Indiana border, Theory Wellness has seen even more traffic coming in from out of state.
"They appreciate having a dispensary that is a lot closer to them than Michigan," Pollock said of customers from Indiana. "They might've been driving an hour and a half to go to Michigan to purchase, but we're the more convenient, legal option."
Medicinal marijuana has been legal in Ohio since January 2019.
To date, the state has done nearly $2 billion in sales of medicinal marijuana.