COLUMBUS – The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control 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.
Read more on how Ohio stacks up against other cannabis states at Cannabis Business Times
