'It hasn't slowed down.' Ohio recreational marijuana sales top $11.5M in first 4 days

Ohio marijuana dispensaries raked in more than $11.5 million in recreational marijuana sales in the week that ended Aug. 9, and prices spiked dramatically in the first week that nonmedical cannabis was legally sold in the state, according to figures released Wednesday by Ohio's Division of Cannabis Control.

Overall, Ohio dispensaries sold 1,285 pounds of marijuana flower and 173,043 units of other products, such as edibles and topical ointments, for nonmedical use, generating $11,530,708 in total sales, state regulators reported. Medical marijuana sales generated another $8.3 million.

Meanwhile, the average price last week of an ounce of flower — dried cannabis plant material — jumped about 20% to $266 per ounce, compared to $222 dollars per ounce in the previous week, according to the Division of Cannabis Control's numbers.

Ninety-eight dispensaries received state-granted, dual-use certificates of operation to sell medical and nonmedical cannabis on Aug. 6 — the first day recreational cannabis sales were allowed in Ohio. And another 18 dispensaries received dual-use certificates by Thursday.

'It hasn't slowed down'

All four of the dispensaries in Canton ― The Botanist, Zen Leaf, The Citizen by Klutch and the Ohio Cannabis Co. ― began recreational sales on Aug. 6. Each store had at least a dozen people in line when they opened and a steady stream of customers throughout the morning.

Customers' opinions about the prices varied. Some told The Canton Repository that they thought prices were reasonable while others compared them to cheaper prices in Michigan.

“Ohioans were clearly ready and excited for the historic end of cannabis prohibition in the Buckeye State: since the start of adult-use sales, foot traffic and transactions have already increased two to three times across all five Zen Leaf dispensaries statewide in comparison to previous medical-only operations, and we expect to continue seeing robust activity at our stores and via third-party wholesale sales of our products for the foreseeable future," Verano Chief Operating Officer Trip McDermott said in a prepared statement.

Pete Nischt, vice president of compliance and communications for Klutch Cannabis, said there's been a "significant increase" in customers since the start of non-medical sales at its Canton and Lorain dispensaries.

"Obviously, there was a rush on the first couple of days but, really, it hasn't slowed down," he said.

The response has been validating and shows that allowing recreational sales was about providing safe, legal access to cannabis, Nischt said. Everything went smoothly at Klutch's dispensaries, and he's excited about the future and participating communities receiving a more direct benefit from tax revenue.

"I think there's a sense, to people in the industry, that this is kind of like the big leagues," he said. "And I know that our staff, all of us, were extremely excited to see how this was going to turn out. And I think that the best part about it is that the people that are shopping are also just as excited."

Ohio's marijuana milestone: Canton customers celebrate first day recreational sales

Ohio's sales compared favorably to early sales of recreational marijuana in other states, said Jason Erkes of Chicago-based Cresco Labs , which owns the Sunnyside dispensary in Columbia Township where one of the first recreational marijuana sales in the state was made.

"Any way you look at it, Ohio had incredible performance in the first week of sales that is on par or exceeds revenues for other adult use launches, like Illinois,'' Erkes said.

Nearly $11 million of recreational marijuana was sold in Illinois in the first week that recreational cannabis use became legal in the state in 2020, according to a CNN report.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'It hasn't slowed down.' Ohio recreational marijuana sales top $11.5M in first 4 days