COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Multiple Ohio dispensaries have confirmed to NBC4 that they have the green light to start selling recreational marijuana on Tuesday, but some caveats for customers apply.
As of Monday, Sunnyside Dispensaries -- a subsidiary of Cresco Labs -- had announced the earliest opening time of 7 a.m. at its Cincinnati shop, likely securing the first legal sale of recreational marijuana in Ohio. Three of its other storefronts in Chillicothe, Marion and Wintersville will all open at 9 a.m.
Sunnyside and other dispensaries have been waiting for this day for months, with only a certificate of operation standing in the way of sales starting. Cresco planted the state's inaugural crop of recreational marijuana in May at its Yellow Springs growing facility, and the sales launch comes conveniently after staff harvested the crop in July, according to Chief Communications Officer Jason Erkes.
Several central Ohio dispensaries, including the Landing OH in Columbus and Trulieve in Westerville, have also announced plans to sell recreationally beginning Tuesday. These and other companies’ opening times lean toward 10 a.m.
Sunnyside and other dispensaries are expecting a large crowd to show up on Tuesday, and the supply side took that into account. Erkes previously told NBC4 just how much marijuana his team's first crop would provide.
“The 400 pounds of flower that these plants in this room today will produce, is equivalent to 65,000 Ohio tenths, which is the way cannabis is sold here,” Erkes said.
On Friday, Erkes spoke again with NBC4 about launch day, and what recreational customers can expect going inside a dispensary for the first time. He said Sunnyside trained its staff in advance to "make sure we can handle the crowd flow."
"There's no glass jars and bare hands going in to pull out a bud. Everything is prepackaged and child safety sealed, much like you'd see walking down the aisle of a Rite Aid or a Walgreens pharmacy," Erkes said.
When voters passed Issue 2, it legalized the use and possession of marijuana recreationally. The ballot initiative's language also added a limit for legal possession up to 2.5 ounces of recreational cannabis. This could also serve as a cap on how much a customer would be allowed to purchase at dispensaries on Tuesday, since selling any amount more than 2.5 ounces would mean the buyer now possesses an illegal amount.
The state's medical marijuana program does allow patients to order products online for pickup at dispensaries, and OhioStateCannabis.org maintains a list of dispensaries offering this method.
Some states with more mature recreational programs, including Michigan and Illinois, do allow online orders for recreational marijuana with dispensary pickup. Erkes didn't specify if Sunnyside would allow recreational customers to do the same on launch day. However, he did mention that customers perusing an online menu in advance may help potentially long lines at the store stay moving.
"It would be very helpful if you went to a website like ours, sunnyside.shop, and took a look at the products that are available," Erkes said. "So you have an idea of what the consumption method you might want is and what you're looking to buy."
Several states including Michigan, California, Colorado and Oregon among others also allow delivery on marijuana products, according to the Cannabis Business Times. However, Ohio Administrative Code already bans medical marijuana delivery. As of Monday, Ohio has not laid out any framework for dual-use dispensaries to offer this service for either type.
Erkes confirmed that recreational customers will need to bring a government-issued ID that shows they are 21 years or older. The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control didn't have public-facing information on which IDs are accepted for recreational sales as of Monday. However, they did have a list of acceptable identification to get a medical marijuana card, which includes:
For nearly a full year since voters legalized recreational marijuana in Ohio, medical marijuana remained the only kind with a legal purchase method. So long as a customer has a qualifying medical condition, Ohio Division of Cannabis Control spokesman Jamie Crawford said getting a digital medical marijuana card could be a same-day process.
Because Ohio opted for its medical dispensaries to convert to dual-use and also sell recreationally -- rather than opening up separate storefronts -- the shops will be able to serve both clientele. Erkes shared his advice for patients in the state's medical marijuana program on Tuesday.
"I would think that opening day is probably not the best day for them to get their medicine, but of course, they will always be the priority, and they'll go right to the front of the line," Erkes said. "Being a dual-use dispensary means we'll be serving medical consumers and nonmedical consumers."
Medical marijuana purchases also hold some benefits over recreational sales, including that they are also exempt from the state's 10% excise tax, Crawford said.
Before Ohio legalized recreational marijuana, a team campaigning for Issue 2's passage ran a television ad claiming that the state was losing sales tax because residents were buying Michigan marijuana.
While an Ohioan could legally consume Michigan's recreational marijuana as long as they did so in that state, they actually risk violating federal law if they brought it back to Ohio. And the same applies in Ohio, as any person that leaves the state's borders in possession of cannabis is subject to federal jurisdiction, where there remains a prohibition on marijuana.
Traveling with recreational cannabis at Ohio airports is another matter. If the Transportation Security Administration -- a federal agency -- finds marijuana during passage through a security checkpoint, they will report it to local law enforcement. But it's up to the local agency what steps are taken from there.
The launch of recreational marijuana sales in Ohio will intersect with the state's extended sales tax holiday. From July 30 to Aug. 8, most items bought under $500 are exempt from sales tax.
The Ohio Department of Taxation has laid out that the sales tax holiday counts for all tangible personal property, with some specifics. It defines tangible property as “any property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, including prewritten computer software.” However, it also has a list of items that the exemption does not apply to. Marijuana is part of that exclusion, alongside alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and a few others.
