'Let's do it.' Legal recreational marijuana debuts in Cincinnati

As the doors opened for recreational marijuana buyers for the first time at Zen Leaf in Cincinnati's Hartwell neighborhood, assistant general manager Jacob Rose looked downright giddy.

"Let's do it," the 32-year-old said as he allowed the first customer in the dispensary's lobby. With that, Ron Koth, a 41-year-old Delhi Township resident, stepped inside. A few minutes later, the nearly 30 queued customers behind him burst into applause as Koth was the first led from the lobby into the sales room.

Similar scenes were scattered throughout metro Cincinnati as 19 of the region's dispensaries were officially granted dual licenses allowing them to sell both medical and recreational marijuana. The latter was approved by voters in the November 2023 election .

The mood as shops opened one by one throughout the region was celebratory overall, bordering on slap happy. Asked why he'd joined Zen Leaf's line more than an hour before the shop opened, Nick Proctor, 38, laughed and said, "We're here to get weed, just like everybody else."

Proctor said he wanted to be among the first to peruse Zen Leaf's offerings and "see what they got."

"I betcha they got weed," smirked his friend, Gil Black, 50, of Mississippi.

And they did. Koth, who'd taken two buses from suburban Delhi Township to get to Zen Leaf nearly two hours before the shop opened, left with some Northern Lights flower, a strain of dried cannabis material.

'This is pretty epic'

Across town on Kennedy Avenue in Columbia Township, Jeff Riede had endured a night of sleeping in his car to ensure he was first in line at the Sunnyside dispensary, which, with a 7 a.m. opening, was one of the first to start selling in the state. The 55-year-old said he'd reached Sunnyside's parking lot at about 6:30 p.m. Monday.

"Yeah, I slept in my car," Riede said. "This is pretty epic to me. I wanted to be the first one here."

Riede, who is self-employed, said he's been smoking marijuana since he was 18, but he doesn't like the risk associated with buying marijuana on the black market.

"It's just safer at the dispensary," he said. "You don't have to worry about getting robbed or about it being laced with something that might hurt you."

After Riede made his buy of some edibles and flower, he pumped his fist to cheers.

Rob Busemeyer, 50, didn't spend the night in his car but made a point to arrive at 4:20 a.m. to be second in line. It's no coincidence the term "420" generally refers to marijuana in counterculture circles.

"It's like the prohibition of marijuana has been lifted," Busemeyer said. "Now I have someplace to go where I can buy safely and I have a choice and not be stuck with whatever's available" on the black market.

"I've been waiting for this for so long," said Northside resident Jean Maye, 47, who bought flower and edibles at Sunnyside. After making her purchase, she shouted, "It's official!" while raising her shopping bag. Many of those standing in line applauded.

'I've been looking forward to this'

But not every sale was met with fanfare. At Zen Leaf, Dave Hamilton stood quietly in line. The Forest Park man, who turns 70 this month, wore a "Jesus" baseball cap as he asked the shop's sales team for recommendations because he said he'd never used cannabis before and didn't know what type might help his chronic pain.

Hamilton told The Enquirer that 27 years ago, he was in a car accident that tore his back muscles and dislodged discs in his lower back. He took oxycontin for eight years.

"Then I was wanting one before I needed one, so they switched me to oxycodone and I've been on them for the rest, but they're getting to the point where they don't work no more and it's a struggle to get through the day with the pain I've been in."

He said he's applied for a medical card but it hasn't been approved yet. Within 20 minutes of Zen Leaf opening, Hamilton left the dispensary with edibles that he hopes help calm the pain.

"I was glad when this came about legally because the last thing I want to do is wind up in jail, so I don't do anything illegal," he said. "I've been looking forward to this."

Tuesday's sales came with little warning as word only began spreading Friday that the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control had started alerting most of its 120-plus dispensaries that they were on the verge of being granted certificates of operation.

"I was surprised. I really was," Koth said of the sudden approval. "I don't think a lot of people know what's happening yet. I thought there'd be a lot more people in line."

The remaining dispensaries are set to be approved for dual-use certificates yet this week, the state agency said in a Monday news release. Per the voter-approved statute, the state had until Sept. 7 to start permitting recreational sales.

Customers of recreational cannabis will pay a 10% excise tax in addition to the state's 5.75% sales tax. Medical buyers pay only the sales tax. Some Ohio lawmakers had attempted post-election to increase the excise tax to 15%, but the legislation stalled.

The new law also allows Ohio adults to grow up to six marijuana plants at home, with a 12-plant cap on households with two or more adults.

Reporter Allison Kiehl contributed.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'Let's do it.' Legal recreational marijuana debuts in Cincinnati