Ohio inches closer to recreational marijuana sales after growers, processors get OK

Ohio took a big step forward toward recreational marijuana sales last week after some cultivators and processors got the green light to operate.

As of Monday, four dual-use cultivators and six dual-use processors had received certificates of operation, meaning they've passed the final tests put in place by the state's Division of Cannabis Control to produce both recreational and medical product, including:

• Notifying local officials and law enforcement.
• Training employees.
• Ensuring security equipment is up to date and meets state standards.

Processor One Orijin, LLC, was the only Franklin County business to receive one of the dual-use licenses.

When dispensaries will complete the same checklist and start selling product remains unclear, as the state trudges through the hundreds applications for businesses seeking a dual-use license to sell both medical and recreational marijuana. Cultivators, processors and testing labs come before dispensaries in the supply chain of adult-use marijuana.

Where do cultivators and processors fit in?

The supply chain for adult-use marijuana begins with cultivators and processors, so they have to be certified before dispensaries can be.

Cultivators grow the marijuana plants for medical marijuana, and when they receive a certificate of operation, can also grow cannabis for recreational use.

Processors manufacture the plants from cultivators into products you see on dispensary shelves, such as lotions, ointments, capsules, patches, edibles or oils.

Opening day sales restrictions announced

On July 18, the division issued guidance related to dual-use dispensaries' "opening day" activities, possibly hinting that those dispensaries are nearing the finish line for their certificates.

These include no samples of products, no consumption of cannabis, and no product displays or "celebratory signage" or music outside the dispensary.

The division's seal must be clearly displayed on all packaging by the cultivators and processors, and the seal must also appear at the entrance of a dispensary.

Dispensaries must ensure the confidentiality of all patients and adult-use consumers on the premises, and no video or photos can be taken in the dispensaries without the consent of those individuals.

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