Marijuana Moment: Ohio Regulators Issue Provisional Marijuana Licenses To Dozens Of Businesses, Readying Imminent Launch Of Adult-Use Sales

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Ohio marijuana regulators have approved dozens of provisional licenses for existing medical marijuana operators to convert to dual-use licenses, setting the stage for a potentially imminent launch of the state’s recreational market.

As of Friday afternoon, the Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) has signed off on 62 provisional dual licenses for dispensaries, cultivators, processors and testing labs, just two weeks after regulators started accepting applications.

Before opening applications, the department released informational materials to prepare prospective applicants, outlining regulatory requirements they must satisfy in order to be eligible for the hybrid license.

Applicants that receive the provisional licenses can’t start selling to adult consumers just yet. They must first prove that they’ve met various requirements, which includes updating point-of-sale technology to distinguish between medical cannabis and adult-use sales, enhancing security and verifying that they will be able to maintain an adequate supply for patients. If they meet those standards, and when any inspection requirements are complete, applicants will be able to obtain a certificate of operation to begin dual sales.

“It’s important to keep in mind that a dual-use provisional license does not permit the holder to sell non-medical cannabis; it is issued as a placeholder while the provisional licensee works to meet the necessary requirements to obtain a Certificate of Operation and the Division processes all required documents,” a Department of Commerce spokesperson told Marijuana Moment on Friday. “Following successful completion of that process, Certificates of Operation will be issued based on roughly the order in which completed applications were received.”

“As a reminder, there will be no one singular day when sales begin. We will start issuing licenses and it will be up to the retailer based on staffing, stock and other considerations as to which day they will begin sales,” they said. “Given the foundation already laid through the Medical Marijuana Control Program, current medical permit holders positioned to apply for dual-use status who have already undergone many of the comprehensive checks are anticipated to have a much quicker turnaround for issuance of licenses over the summer.”

Considering how quickly regulators issued the provisional licenses after opening up applications, the expectation is that dispensaries that are in compliance with the updated rules could become operations within weeks, though the latest they can be issued under state law is September 7.

Jason Erkes, chief communications officer at the multi-state operator Cresco Labs, which secured provisional dispensary, cultivator and processor licenses in this first round of approvals in Ohio, told Marijuana Moment that “the speed that the state of Ohio is working at is a testament to their priorities.”

“We’ve worked with municipalities all over the country, and Ohio seems to be working at lightning-fast speed, issuing provisional licenses a week after applications were submitted,” he said. “We’ve never seen that anywhere.”

“We’re obviously very excited—and so are the consumers across the state,” Erkes said. “We’re ready to flip the switch and welcome people into our stores.”

Here’s a list of the currently approved provision dual licensees as of Friday afternoon:

BUSINESS NAME	LICENSE TYPE	CITY
TEST ACCOUNT, CULTIVATOR1, LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Columbus
Cresco Labs Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Yellow Springs
Standard Wellness Company, LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Gibsonburg
Riviera Creek Holdings LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Youngstown
CannaMed Therapeutics LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Columbus
Appalachian Pharm Products, LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Jackson
Certified Cultivators Corporation	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Dayton
PharmaCann Ohio LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Buckeye Lake
FW Green Investments LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Cincinnati
Green Investment Partners, LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level I	Columbus
Agri-Med Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level II	Langsville
HEMMA, LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level II	Monroe
Ascension BioMedical, LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level II	Oberlin
Ohio Clean Leaf LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level II	Dayton
FN Group Holdings, LLC	Dual Use Cultivator Level II	Ravenna Township
Verdant Creations Chillicothe	Dual Use Dispensary	Chillicothe
Verdant Creations Newark	Dual Use Dispensary	Newark
Verdant Creations, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Columbus
The Forest Cincinnati, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Cincinnati
THE FOREST SANDUSKY, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Sandusky
Good Day Dispensary, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Lake
The Green Goat Dispensary, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Canton
Healing Through Cannabis LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Springfield
GNCO 123 LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Columbus
Campbell Hill Ventures LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Cincinnati
B Cubed Operations Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Hubbard
N2 Ohio LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Cincinnati
Care Med Associates LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Cincinnati
Greenleaf Apothecaries, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Akron
The Green Goat Dispensary, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Piqua
Cresco Labs Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Wintersville
Big Perm’s Dispensary Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Jeffersonville
Eagle Dispensaries 2, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Wapakoneta
Harvest of Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Columbus
Aron OH LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Cincinnati
Harvest of Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Beavercreek
App1803, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Columbus
Trulieve OH, Inc.	Dual Use Dispensary	Columbus
QUEST WELLNESS OHIO II LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Youngstown
BCCO, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Carroll
The Green Goat Dispensary, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Harpster
Big Perm’s Dispensary Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Athens
Daily Releaf, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Dayton
Ohio Cannabis Clinic, LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Coshocton
CREAM Apothecaries Ohio LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Elyria
Italian Herbs LLC	Dual Use Dispensary	Ashtabula
Cresco Labs Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Processor	Yellow Springs
Standard Wellness Company, LLC	Dual Use Processor	Gibsonburg
Riviera Creek Holdings II, LLC	Dual Use Processor	Youngstown
Noohra Labs, LLC	Dual Use Processor	Dayton
Beneleaves Limited	Dual Use Processor	Columbus
NEN Holdings, LLC	Dual Use Processor	East Palestine
Appalachian Pharm Processing, LLC	Dual Use Processor	Jackson
Certified Cultivators Corporation	Dual Use Processor	Dayton
Ascension BioMedical, LLC	Dual Use Processor	Oberlin
PharmaCann Ohio LLC	Dual Use Processor	Buckeye Lake
Ohio Processing Plant LLC	Dual Use Processor	Coshocton
TEST ACCOUNT, CULTIVATOR1, LLC	Dual Use Testing Laboratory	Columbus
Smithers CTS Ohio, LLC	Dual Use Testing Laboratory	Columbus
One Bond Laboratories, Inc.	Dual Use Testing Laboratory	Columbus
North Coast Testing Laboratories, LLC	Dual Use Testing Laboratory	Streetsboro
Pinnacle Testing and Specialty Lab	Dual Use Testing Laboratory	Akron

As of noon on Friday, regulators had received 235 applications from existing medical cannabis businesses seeking to covert to dual-use licensees.

Recently, DCC Superintendent James Canepa has said that the exact timeline for approving certificates remains unclear. However, he previously suggested that businesses with dual licenses approved could begin selling to patients and recreational consumers as early as this month.

An FAQ posted by regulators notes that “applications from cultivators, processors, and testing laboratories will receive priority” in order to “help ensure an efficient supply chain.”

Applications for the dual licenses opened about a month after the legislature’s Joint Committee On Agency Rule Review (JCARR) gave final approval to the proposed cannabis regulations for the adult-use market under the legalization law voters passed last November.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) doesn’t personally support legalization, but he’s repeatedly criticized the delay in access to regulated products since voters made that choice and possession became legal in December.

Legislative leaders had separately discussed putting together a bill to make various changes to the law, including expediting sales, but the plans have largely fallen apart amid disagreement within the GOP-controlled legislature.

The Senate did pass an amendment package just prior to legalization taking effect, but the House has not taken it up, nor has it moved to advance a different proposal that originate in the House. Senators also recently filed a separate bill to change various marijuana rules.

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Meanwhile, as regulators have worked to finalize regulations for the adult-use market, it already implemented a change in February that allows medical marijuana patients and caregivers to obtain or renew their registrations for only one penny. That fee was then totally eliminated with the adoption of a new rule at last month’s JCARR meeting.

The fee elimination is part of an initial package of rules that DCC released in February to implement adult-use legalization.

Following voter approval of legalization at the ballot, the Department of Commerce was quick to publish an FAQ guide for residents to learn about the new law and timeline for implementation.

The governor, meanwhile, has previously pressed the legislature to enact changes to expedite recreational marijuana sales. But he’s indicated that his more immediate concern is regulating the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC.

“This is time for the legislature to move,” the governor, who also raised the issue during his State of the State address last month, said. “We can’t do it ourselves.”

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