The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) is about finished issuing provisional licenses to the 240-plus medical cannabis applicants who intend to participate in the state’s adult-use market.
The DCC opened the application process June 7 for existing cultivators, retailers, processors and testing laboratories to apply for dual-use licensure to participate in both the medical and adult-use cannabis programs. The state’s voter-approved legalization initiative, which garnered 57.2% support in the November 2023 election, provided this first-mover advantage into Ohio’s forthcoming adult-use marketplace.
The division had approved 188 provisional licenses for dual-use operations as of July 5, according to the DCC’s licensing database. These licenses serve as placeholders for companies to receive their certificates of operation and are broken down as follows:
- 6 testing laboratories (of 8 operational licensees in the medical market)
- 22 Level I cultivators (of 22 in the medical market)
- 11 Level II cultivators (of 14 in the medical market)
- 39 processors (of 45 in the medical market)
- 110 dispensaries (of 126 in the medical market)
“It’s important to keep in mind that a dual-use provisional license does not permit the holder to sell nonmedical cannabis; it is 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,” Jamie Crawford, public information officer with the Ohio Department of Commerce, told Cannabis Business Times in a prepared statement.
Some speculated adult-use sales could begin as early as mid-June, an estimate based on comments from state Rep. Jamie Callender, who co-chairs Ohio’s Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. But the only statutory requirement is that the division issue the licenses by Sept. 7, 2024—nine months after the effective date.
RELATED: Ohio’s Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Launch: What to Know
Since Dec. 7, 2023, Ohioans 21 and older have been able to legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis flower or 15 grams of extract and home-cultivate up to six plants per person or 12 plants per household. However, the monthslong process of orchestrating a licensed and regulated commercial marketplace is not singular to Ohio. The Buckeye State remains ahead of scheduled adult-use sales launches in Delaware and Minnesota, where lawmakers passed legalization measures in the first half of 2023.
For states that legalized adult-use cannabis via the election process, sales launches have come as quickly as 80 days in Arizona and 87 days in Missouri to as long as 1,431 days (nearly four years) in Maine. The average timeframe between an election and an adult-use sales launch is about 16 months.
The 188 provisional license holders in Ohio must demonstrate they’re compliant with operational requirements—from security/surveillance at their facilities to updated point-of-sale systems to handle both medical and adult-use transactions and proper employee badging—before the DCC issues the certificates of operation. Some applicants may also require site inspections of their facilities before their certificates are issued.
Crawford said the division is prioritizing dual-use licensure for testing labs, cultivators and processors who have met these qualification requirements to help ensure an efficient supply chain leading up to an adult-use sales launch.
“Following successful completion of that process, certificates of operation will be issued based on roughly the order in which completed applications were received,” he said. “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.”
The division anticipates issuing these certificates of operation in batches. Then, if dispensaries are confident in their inventories and meet local standards, such as city zoning ordinances, they’re free to commence adult-use sales. DCC officials have repeatedly said there will be no singular day for a sales launch.
“It will be up to the retailer based on staffing, stock and other considerations as to which day they will begin sales,” Crawford said.
While the majority of Ohio’s existing medical cannabis dispensaries will be the first to serve the state’s adult-use customers, up to another 168 retail licenses could be awarded to medical cannabis companies for dispensaries that don’t exist yet, as well as another 50 retail licenses to social equity applicants.
The first adult-use cannabis products sold at these dispensaries must come from a dual-use cannabis cultivator with a certificate of operation and be tested by a dual-use testing laboratory with a certificate of operation.
As of July 5, no license type had received a dual-use certificate of operation.
