Ohio is finally moving forward with a plan to implement adult-use cannabis sales in the state.
Ohio voters approved Issue 2 in November 2023, making it the 24th state to legalize adult-use cannabis. According to the new state law, adults can possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow up to six plants at home (with a 12-plant total per household as long as two adults live there). It also implemented a 10% tax on all cannabis purchases. These changes took effect starting on Dec. 7, 2023.
At the time, Rep. Jamie Callender said that the delay in implementing a plan for legal sales was “…to make sure we’re thoughtful, that we’ve had adequate time to look at it and deal with the things that don’t go into effect immediately.”
While it’s legal to purchase cannabis in Ohio, there’s currently no legal place to do so, until now. The Ohio Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) met on May 13, where it discussed and approved new rules to allow medical cannabis dispensaries to sell non-medical cannabis products.
According to AP News’ recent coverage of the news, the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) superintendent, Jim Canepa, said that applications would be made available no later than June 7. “I don’t want to give anyone false hopes,” Canepa said. “We’re following the timeline in the initiated statute. We have a small but mighty staff, but there’s bandwidth there.”
The Ohio Cannabis Coalition’s (OCC) spokesperson, Tom Haren, added a comment explaining that the DCC has been “working tirelessly” to meet the various deadlines for sales. “Our members have obviously been anticipating the rollout of adult-use sales,” Haren said of the OCC team’s recent work. “They’ve been working on getting processes in place, making whatever changes they need …
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Author: Nicole Potter / High Times
