Cannabis Business Licensing in Ohio

Ohio released information about 73 provisional medical cannabis licenses it plans to issue soon. From November 4-18, 2021, the license application window will open, and each license carries a $5,000 application fee. To qualify, applicants are required to have a location secured for their dispensary, submit a site plan, and have zoning approval. A lottery will be held to choose license winners. The license expansion in any given district will be established according to the number of "available provisional licenses." There's a limit to owning a maximum of five dispensaries. If all 73 licenses are granted, Ohio could have up to 130 medical cannabis dispensaries operating by 2022. 

• Medical 
• Adult-Use (Pending)

There are three state government agencies are responsible for the operation of the Medical Marijuana Control Program (MMCP):

• The Ohio Department of Commerce
• The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy
• State Medical Board of Ohio

• 11,799,448 residents were recorded in the April 2020 census.

• In 2019, Ohio welcomed 226 million visitors, most of whom came from within a day's drive (300-500 miles). Daytrip visitors spent an estimated $117 per person, while overnight visitors spent an estimated $379 per person. The direct visitor spending was estimated at $38 billion and generated $48 billion in sales.

• According to MJ Biz Daily estimates, the total 2020 medical marijuana sales were $221.5 million. 
• Since the MMCP began in April 2019 through August 2021, the total cumulative sales are over $523 million. 

• As of March 2021, Marijuana Business Factbook projects Ohio medical sales will reach $350 million to $425 million this year, a substantial increase over the $221.5 million in 2020. 
• The MJ Biz Factbook further projects sales, which will increase to half-billion dollars a year by 2023.

• In August 1975, Ohio became the sixth state to decriminalize cannabis when Republican Governor James Rhodes signed a bill into law.

• In 2015, a ballot measure to legalize the recreational use of cannabis in Ohio was defeated at the polls.
• In September 2015, Toledo residents voted 70%–30% to decriminalize misdemeanor cannabis offenses, with no fines and no jail time for possession or cultivation of under 200 grams, possession of hashish under 10 grams, possession of paraphernalia, and gifts of under 20 grams. Some provisions of the ordinance were later struck down in court, however.

• In June 2016, Governor John Kasich signed HB 523 to legalize the medical use of cannabis in Ohio. The bill, sponsored by state Representative Stephen Huffman, was approved by an 18-15 vote in the state Senate and a 67-29 vote in the state House. 
• Senate Bill 204 was signed into law by Governor Kasich on 13 June 2016. It repealed a requirement in state law that possession of cannabis or any other illegal drug be punished with a mandatory six-month driver's license suspension (instead, the bill made the suspensions optional).
• Ohio's Medical Marijuana Control Program was created by House Bill 523, which took effect in September 2016.

• HB 523 established a rule making process under which a "state-run or licensed system of growing facilities, testing labs, physician certification, patient registration, processors, and retail dispensaries" was established. The system was required to be fully operational by September 2018. The DOC to make rules for cultivators by 6 May 2017, issue rules and regulations for cultivators, and the remainder of rules to be promulgated by October 2017.

• In November 2018, Dayton residents voted 73%–27% to approve an advisory referendum urging city leaders to decriminalize cannabis. City commissioners then voted unanimously in January to eliminate all penalties for possession of up to 100 grams.

• Under HB 523, there were four dispensaries opened on 16 January, after licensing delays.
• In June, Cincinnati City Council voted 5–3 to eliminate all penalties for possession of up to 100 grams of cannabis except in cases of public use.
• In July, Columbus City Council voted unanimously to reduce the penalty to a $10 fine for possession of up to 100 grams and a $25 fine for between 100 and 200 grams. Possession of paraphernalia was also reduced to a $10 fine.

• In January, Cleveland City Council voted 15–2 to eliminate penalties for possessing up to 200 grams of cannabis.

• On 30 July, State Reps. Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) and Terrence Upchurch (D-Cleveland) introduced legislation, House Bill 382 (HB 382), that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Ohio. The bill will have four major components: Decriminalization, Marijuana Excise Tax, Commerce and Licensing, and Medical Marijuana.
• On 26 August, State Reps. Weinstein and Upchurch held a virtual informational town hall for interested parties and Ohioans to learn more about HB 382, their bill to legalize cannabis in Ohio.
• https://ohiohouse.gov/members/casey-weinstein/news/reps-weinstein-and-upchurch-introduce-legislation-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana-107021
• In late August, state officials certified a petition for circulation that would legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis for adults if approved in November 2022 by the voters of Ohio. 
• https://ballotpedia.org/Campaign_to_Regulate_Marijuana_Like_Alcohol  
• Ohio released information about 73 provisional medical cannabis licenses it plans to issue soon. From November 4-18, 2021, the license application window will open.

• 73 provisional medical cannabis licenses are available from November 4-18, 2021.