COLUMBUS – Oho cannabis dispensaries sold more than $11.5 million worth of marijuana to recreational customers in the first five days of legalization.
Recreational sales opened to the public on August 6 and by August 10, about 1,285 pounds of non-medical plant material had been sold, the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control reported Friday. That’s in addition to 173,043 units of manufactured products like edibles.
In all, non-medical cannabis sales totaled $11,530,708, the report says.
Ohio is expected to see a lot more green from recreational marijuana sales starting Tuesday through state and excise taxes. With both taxes, adult-use marijuana consumers can expect to pay 15.75% when they go to the dispensary, plus the local tax of the city, township or county they are in. That can range from zero to 2.25%, according to Hrdinova.
The 10% excise tax will be split up among the Cannabis Social Equity and Job Fund (receiving 36%), the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (25%), the Division of Cannabis Control and Department of Taxation (3%) and local communities with dispensaries across the state (36%).
The use of recreational marijuana was made legal in Ohio on Nov. 7, 2023.
The first wave of Certificates of Operation to sell recreational marijuana products to the public went to dispensaries already licensed to sell medical marijuana, which has been legal in Ohio since 2019. The Division of Cannabis Control issued certificates to 98 different dispensaries throughout Ohio on August 6, though more dispensaries are expected to gain certificates over time.
The DCC said the certificates were issued based roughly on the order in which companies completed applications when the application phase opened earlier this year.
You can search licensed dispensaries on the Division of Cannabis Control’s website here. The division also has a searchable map it says it will continue to update as more licenses are issued in the future.
This story was published by WCPO
