COLUMBUS, Ohio — Recreational marijuana availability in Ohio took another incremental step forward on Friday, but Ohioans still cannot legally purchase non-medicinal pot at dispensaries.
On Friday, 10 marijuana growers and processors received certificates of operation that will let them start working in the recreational weed market. One processor in Toledo — GTI Ohio LLC, known as Green Thumb Industries — is now certified as both a large-scale, dual-use cultivator and dual-use processor.
Cultivators and processors remove the oils from plants so the oils can be used for gummy products and vaping cartridges, among other uses.
The other certificates recently issued to growers and processors are:
- Pure Ohio Wellness LLC (dual-use cultivator), Springfield
- Pure Ohio Wellness LLC (dual-use processor), Springfield
- Farkas Farms LLC (dual-use cultivator), Grafton
- AT-CPC of Ohio LLC (dual-use cultivator), Akron
- AT-CPC of Ohio LLC (dual-use processor), Akron
- Riviera Creek Holdings II LLC (dual-use processor), Youngstown
- One Orijin LLC (dual-use processor), Columbus
- FN Group Holdings LLC (duel-use processor), Ravenna Township
Cannabis businesses have been able to apply for a dual-use license permitting them to sell both medicinal and recreational marijuana since June 7. The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control is currently reviewing applications and has set a deadline of Sept. 7 to start issuing the dual-use licenses.
The division will require businesses that received provisional licenses to meet compliance and operational requirements before receiving their certificates of operation on or before Sept. 7.
The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control said that licensing for cultivators, processors and testing labs needs to come before licensing for dispensaries to create an efficient supply chain and to ensure that once certificates of operations are issued to dispensaries, there is non-medical marijuana product available for adult consumers to purchase.
"This is necessary because dispensaries are not able to sell non-medical product unless the cultivator, processor and lab that have touched that particular product have received their non-medical cannabis Certificate of Operation," the division said. "In order to receive their Certificate of Operation, dispensaries will be required to show they are able to properly process adult use and medical sales, as well as provide proof of training, which could take a little longer to process than the types of operators.
The division further said that there will be no one singular day when recreational marijuana sales will begin in Ohio, and current medical permit holders that have applied for dual-use status likely will have a much quicker turnaround for licenses.
The division will issue licenses and then it's up to the retailer to determine which day they will begin sales, with the decision likely to rest on individual staffing and stock levels.