Recreational marijuana in Ohio: Here's what consumers are buying

All kinds of marijuana products were made available in Ohio earlier this month , but which do Buckeye State customers prefer?

Bloom Medicinals, a cannabis company selling both medical and adult use marijuana, offered some insight, and a smaller local shop, Locals Cannabis at 914 Cleveland Ave. in Columbus followed similar trends to its multistate counterpart.

The company gathered data on marijuana purchases across their four Ohio stores, including one location in Seven Mile in Butler County, from the launch of adult use sales on Aug. 6 to Aug. 15, including gender, age and product type.

From Aug. 6 through 9, dispensaries generated $11.5 million in revenue, according to the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control. Nonmedical sales totaled $10.9 million during Aug. 10-17, and sales are expected to remain steady and outpace medical marijuana sales, which hovered around $1.9 million in each of the past two weeks.

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Who's buying adult use marijuana in Ohio?

Approximately 57% of Bloom Medicinals' customers were purchasing recreational marijuana as opposed to medical, according to the company's report, but "numerous conversations" showcase that recreational marijuana is often being purchased for medical purposes.

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Additionally, gender distribution among recreational customers mirrored that of medical consumers, with roughly 65% being male and 35% female.

The age of customers ranged from the legal age of 21 all the way to customers in their 70s. Men ages 21 to 29 were the highest purchasing demographic of adult use marijuana at Bloom Medicinals, according to the report.

What kind of marijuana products are people buying in Ohio?

Recreational consumers across all gathered age ranges preferred hybrid flower – a mix of the indica and sativa strains of marijuana, according to Bloom Medicinals' report.

Vape products were a close second for male and female customers 21 to 29, though female customers also favored chewable gummy products.

In fact, women across all gathered age ranges "overwhelmingly" favored recreational marijuana products in the form of chewable gummies, while men had more variety, including types of strains in flower products, vape products and gummies. The older the customer, the more likely they favored gummy products.

At Locals Cannabis, flower of all types has dominated their sales since their opening day on Aug. 7, followed by vape products and edibles such as gummies, candies, dissolvable powders and drinks.

Samantha Hendrickson is The Columbus Dispatch's medical business and health care reporter. She can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Recreational marijuana in Ohio: Here's what consumers are buying