New bill could expedite recreational marijuana sales in Ohio dispensaries

When you take a step through the front door of Bliss Ohio, you’re welcomed by the faint smell of an herbal scent that fills the air. An intimate setting that unfolds like a doctor’s office with a waiting room set up, cushioned chairs are lined up against the wall. Customers walk up to the desk, where three eager “Bliss-Tenders” take their questions and advise their patients.

“[Bliss Ohio’s] mission is really just to help our patients find their complete happiness,” said Haley Richards, the general manager of Bliss Ohio medical marijuana dispensary.

 

Bliss is located next to the Kent Municipal Court and opened this past April and is the first medical marijuana dispensary to be established in Kent. The dispensary specializes in providing a wide range of high-quality medical marijuana products that include flower, edibles, tinctures, concentrates, and topicals, to help their patients make the most of their experience.

 

“We do our best to bring a holistic wellness experience to the medical marijuana industry,” Richards said. “We have lots and lots of patients and as a dispensary, we want to make sure that those patients have access to quality products that [are] super reliable, that they can have access to in their local community.”

 

Ohio is now the 24^th state to have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Winning with nearly 57% of voters voting for the new law, Issue 2 permits individuals aged 21 and over to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow up to six plants per individual or 12 plants per household at home. But the question of how and where people can buy marijuana remains unanswered.

 

Last Wednesday, the Ohio Senate passed House Bill 86,  which permits medical marijuana dispensaries to start selling recreational marijuana immediately. During a press conference, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine urged lawmakers to pass H.B. 86 before Issue 2 went into effect, expressing concerns about marijuana that isn’t produced or regulated by the state, being sold illegally to citizens through the black market.

 

“A majority of Ohio voters wanted to be able to buy marijuana in a legal manner,” said DeWine in a press conference on Wednesday Dec. 6, just hours before Issue 2 went into effect. “They wanted to minimize the black market, whether it be illegal storefronts or corner drug dealers.”

 

As of now, existing dispensaries like Bliss are legally not permitted to sell recreational marijuana until they receive their license from the  Division of Cannabis Control.  The newly established division was created within the Ohio Department of Commerce under Issue 2 and will manage recreational marijuana sales and regulate the sale of non-medical cannabis use in Ohio. It is currently working on details of the next steps Ohio dispensaries have to take to receive a license to sell non-medical cannabis. Retailer applications will not be processed until June 2024.

 

“There’s just a lot of preparations to date on the logistics side, making sure that we can accept enough product to supply our patients and if we’re allowed to sell to other consumers to make sure we have enough product for those consumers as well,” said Richards.

 

The new bill will reduce the number of plants allowed to grow in homes from 12 to 6 and will increase the sale tax rate from 10%, under Issue 2, to 15%. Prior to the changes of Issue 2, 36% of the sale tax revenue made from marijuana purchases would be allocated to Social Equity and Jobs Program—which unlike other states with legalized recreational marijuana use like Maryland, New York, and Virginia—Ohio does not have. The Social Equity and Jobs Program would be created to help adult individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged and communities who are more likely to be harmed by marijuana prohibition laws.

 

Prohibition cannabis laws has a disproportionate impact on people of color. A Social Equity and Jobs program would assist individuals who are directly impacted by marijuana prohibition laws and would alleviate the barriers of opportunity for those, who are interested in being part of the cannabis industry, who are apart of communities who are affected.

 

Under H.B. 86, that program is no longer in effect and most of the tax revenue will go toward jail construction and law enforcement training.

 

“I do think we’re gonna learn from the other states where they have put things in place and I’m referring to Maryland, specifically,” said Jasmine Viola, the Director of Compliance at Bloom Medicinals, “where we put things in place that allowed those who are disproportionately disadvantaged to have a stake in this game.”