 Ohio is looking to expand their medical marijuana program by adding more retail locations. They’re also hoping to see marijuana prices drop with the increase in dispensaries.
Prior to medical legalization, Ohio’s cannabis regulators had expected they would have between 12,000 to 24,000 patients in the first two years. Not surprisingly, that number was far lower than reality. Ohio currently has 250,000 registered medical marijuana patients, for only 58 dispensaries in state. The state plans to permit 73 new licenses, which will be distributed evenly throughout the state, so that they aren’t only found in large cities. The state’s goal is to have everyone able to easily access their medicine. Many Ohio medical marijuana patients have complained about the price of products at dispensaries. During a discussion at OSU’s law school, Republican state Sen. Stephen Huffman said that many Ohio medical marijuana patients travel to Michigan to purchase their marijuana to save money. Ohio’s price per gram is more than twice as much as Michigan’s price per gram. Ohio’s legislators, such as Senator Huffman, would like to see their residents make their purchases within Ohio, and, of course, keep the lucrative taxes within the state, too. The Ohio Medicinal Cannabis Industry Association’s executive director, Matt Close, said, “We look forward to the dispensaries opening, and we do believe that competition and economics will drive the prices down.” The Ohio Board of Pharmacy are reviewing applicants as quickly as possible, and aims to begin issuing provisional dispensary licenses within the month. Comments are closed.
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