Politics
Ohio Regulators Issue Provisional Marijuana Licenses To Dozens Of Businesses, Readying Imminent Launch Of Adult-Use Sales
Ohio marijuana regulators have approved dozens of provisional licenses for existing medical marijuana operators to convert to dual-use licenses, setting the stage for a potentially imminent launch of the state’s recreational market.
As of Friday afternoon, the Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) has signed off on 62 provisional dual licenses for dispensaries, cultivators, processors and testing labs, just two weeks after regulators started accepting applications.
Before opening applications, the department released informational materials to prepare prospective applicants, outlining regulatory requirements they must satisfy in order to be eligible for the hybrid license.
Applicants that receive the provisional licenses can’t start selling to adult consumers just yet. They must first prove that they’ve met various requirements, which includes updating point-of-sale technology to distinguish between medical cannabis and adult-use sales, enhancing security and verifying that they will be able to maintain an adequate supply for patients. If they meet those standards, and when any inspection requirements are complete, applicants will be able to obtain a certificate of operation to begin dual sales.
“It’s important to keep in mind that a dual-use provisional license does not permit the holder to sell non-medical 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,” a Department of Commerce spokesperson told Marijuana Moment on Friday. “Following successful completion of that process, Certificates of Operation will be issued based on roughly the order in which completed applications were received.”
“As a reminder, there will be no one singular day when sales begin. We will start issuing licenses and it will be up to the retailer based on staffing, stock and other considerations as to which day they will begin sales,” they said. “Given the foundation already laid through the Medical Marijuana Control Program, current medical permit holders positioned to apply for dual-use status who have already undergone many of the comprehensive checks are anticipated to have a much quicker turnaround for issuance of licenses over the summer.”
Considering how quickly regulators issued the provisional licenses after opening up applications, the expectation is that dispensaries that are in compliance with the updated rules could become operations within weeks, though the latest they can be issued under state law is September 7.
Jason Erkes, chief communications officer at the multi-state operator Cresco Labs, which secured provisional dispensary, cultivator and processor licenses in this first round of approvals in Ohio, told Marijuana Moment that “the speed that the state of Ohio is working at is a testament to their priorities.”
“We’ve worked with municipalities all over the country, and Ohio seems to be working at lightning-fast speed, issuing provisional licenses a week after applications were submitted,” he said. “We’ve never seen that anywhere.”
“We’re obviously very excited—and so are the consumers across the state,” Erkes said. “We’re ready to flip the switch and welcome people into our stores.”
Here’s a list of the currently approved provision dual licensees as of Friday afternoon:
BUSINESS NAME | LICENSE TYPE | CITY |
TEST ACCOUNT, CULTIVATOR1, LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Columbus |
Cresco Labs Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Yellow Springs |
Standard Wellness Company, LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Gibsonburg |
Riviera Creek Holdings LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Youngstown |
CannaMed Therapeutics LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Columbus |
Appalachian Pharm Products, LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Jackson |
Certified Cultivators Corporation | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Dayton |
PharmaCann Ohio LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Buckeye Lake |
FW Green Investments LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Cincinnati |
Green Investment Partners, LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level I | Columbus |
Agri-Med Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level II | Langsville |
HEMMA, LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level II | Monroe |
Ascension BioMedical, LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level II | Oberlin |
Ohio Clean Leaf LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level II | Dayton |
FN Group Holdings, LLC | Dual Use Cultivator Level II | Ravenna Township |
Verdant Creations Chillicothe | Dual Use Dispensary | Chillicothe |
Verdant Creations Newark | Dual Use Dispensary | Newark |
Verdant Creations, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Columbus |
The Forest Cincinnati, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Cincinnati |
THE FOREST SANDUSKY, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Sandusky |
Good Day Dispensary, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Lake |
The Green Goat Dispensary, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Canton |
Healing Through Cannabis LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Springfield |
GNCO 123 LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Columbus |
Campbell Hill Ventures LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Cincinnati |
B Cubed Operations Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Hubbard |
N2 Ohio LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Cincinnati |
Care Med Associates LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Cincinnati |
Greenleaf Apothecaries, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Akron |
The Green Goat Dispensary, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Piqua |
Cresco Labs Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Wintersville |
Big Perm’s Dispensary Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Jeffersonville |
Eagle Dispensaries 2, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Wapakoneta |
Harvest of Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Columbus |
Aron OH LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Cincinnati |
Harvest of Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Beavercreek |
App1803, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Columbus |
Trulieve OH, Inc. | Dual Use Dispensary | Columbus |
QUEST WELLNESS OHIO II LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Youngstown |
BCCO, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Carroll |
The Green Goat Dispensary, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Harpster |
Big Perm’s Dispensary Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Athens |
Daily Releaf, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Dayton |
Ohio Cannabis Clinic, LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Coshocton |
CREAM Apothecaries Ohio LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Elyria |
Italian Herbs LLC | Dual Use Dispensary | Ashtabula |
Cresco Labs Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Processor | Yellow Springs |
Standard Wellness Company, LLC | Dual Use Processor | Gibsonburg |
Riviera Creek Holdings II, LLC | Dual Use Processor | Youngstown |
Noohra Labs, LLC | Dual Use Processor | Dayton |
Beneleaves Limited | Dual Use Processor | Columbus |
NEN Holdings, LLC | Dual Use Processor | East Palestine |
Appalachian Pharm Processing, LLC | Dual Use Processor | Jackson |
Certified Cultivators Corporation | Dual Use Processor | Dayton |
Ascension BioMedical, LLC | Dual Use Processor | Oberlin |
PharmaCann Ohio LLC | Dual Use Processor | Buckeye Lake |
Ohio Processing Plant LLC | Dual Use Processor | Coshocton |
TEST ACCOUNT, CULTIVATOR1, LLC | Dual Use Testing Laboratory | Columbus |
Smithers CTS Ohio, LLC | Dual Use Testing Laboratory | Columbus |
One Bond Laboratories, Inc. | Dual Use Testing Laboratory | Columbus |
North Coast Testing Laboratories, LLC | Dual Use Testing Laboratory | Streetsboro |
Pinnacle Testing and Specialty Lab | Dual Use Testing Laboratory | Akron |
As of noon on Friday, regulators had received 235 applications from existing medical cannabis businesses seeking to covert to dual-use licensees.
Recently, DCC Superintendent James Canepa has said that the exact timeline for approving certificates remains unclear. However, he previously suggested that businesses with dual licenses approved could begin selling to patients and recreational consumers as early as this month.
An FAQ posted by regulators notes that “applications from cultivators, processors, and testing laboratories will receive priority” in order to “help ensure an efficient supply chain.”
Applications for the dual licenses opened about a month after the legislature’s Joint Committee On Agency Rule Review (JCARR) gave final approval to the proposed cannabis regulations for the adult-use market under the legalization law voters passed last November.
Gov. Mike DeWine (R) doesn’t personally support legalization, but he’s repeatedly criticized the delay in access to regulated products since voters made that choice and possession became legal in December.
Legislative leaders had separately discussed putting together a bill to make various changes to the law, including expediting sales, but the plans have largely fallen apart amid disagreement within the GOP-controlled legislature.
The Senate did pass an amendment package just prior to legalization taking effect, but the House has not taken it up, nor has it moved to advance a different proposal that originate in the House. Senators also recently filed a separate bill to change various marijuana rules.
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Meanwhile, as regulators have worked to finalize regulations for the adult-use market, it already implemented a change in February that allows medical marijuana patients and caregivers to obtain or renew their registrations for only one penny. That fee was then totally eliminated with the adoption of a new rule at last month’s JCARR meeting.
The fee elimination is part of an initial package of rules that DCC released in February to implement adult-use legalization.
Following voter approval of legalization at the ballot, the Department of Commerce was quick to publish an FAQ guide for residents to learn about the new law and timeline for implementation.
The governor, meanwhile, has previously pressed the legislature to enact changes to expedite recreational marijuana sales. But he’s indicated that his more immediate concern is regulating the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC.
“This is time for the legislature to move,” the governor, who also raised the issue during his State of the State address last month, said. “We can’t do it ourselves.”