70 new provisional Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries announced. See who won in
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Board of Pharmacy approved 70 provisional licenses for new medical marijuana dispensaries in the state Monday afternoon, including six more in Cuyahoga County.
A provisional license means the business owners have to build the space in compliance with state medical marijuana laws and regulations. After the buildout, the staff at the Board of Pharmacy inspects the business. If the business passes, the board gives it a certificate of operation. Then the dispensary can open its doors.
The process can take several months.
Currently there are 58 licensed dispensaries in Ohio. An additional dispensary may open, depending on the outcome of ongoing litigation. With 70 more licenses, the number will more than double throughout the state.
In Cuyahoga County, the board approved the following provisional licenses:
-OPC Retail II LLC: 1978 W. 3rd St., Cleveland
-Nectar Markets of Ohio LLC: 21100 St. Clair Ave., Euclid
-Twice the Wellness LLC: 27900 Chagrin Blvd, Woodmere
-Green Power OH LLC: 13429 Lakewood Heights Blvd, Cleveland
-Good River Wellness LLC: 27101 Euclid Ave., Euclid
-Shangri-La Dispensary Ohio LLC: 4620 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland
A seventh license will be awarded soon in Cuyahoga County. Board of Pharmacy staff are reviewing an application from Cannavitz Ventures LLC, which wants a dispensary on Lakewood Heights Boulevard in Cleveland, said Justin Sheridan, the board’s director of medical marijuana operations.
In Cuyahoga County, four businesses submitted applications to the Board of Pharmacy, then notified the state agency they weren’t interested in pursuing licenses at this time. The Board of Pharmacy rejected three businesses that wanted to open dispensaries in Cuyahoga County.
In April 2021, Board of Pharmacy staff reviewed the number of dispensaries and determined more were needed, Sheridan said.
“Dispensaries on a per capita basis, when compared to other (states’) medical marijuana programs, indicated a need to increase the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in Ohio,” Sheridan said.
The board staff also found the number of registered Ohio medical marijuana patients exceeded initial projections and some areas of Western Ohio have no dispensaries, and the board staff wanted to ensure patients in those areas had reasonable access, Sheridan said.
The board hopes the expansion will result in 1,200 registered patients per dispensary district.
Cuyahoga County has its own dispensary district with six dispensaries: Amplify in Cleveland Heights, The Botanist in Cleveland, RISE in Cleveland, two RISE dispensaries in Lakewood and Terrasana in Garfield Heights. Under the new expansion plan, the Board of Pharmacy plans to add another six licenses, for a total of 13.
This story will be updated.
Read more:
Read More: 70 new provisional Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries announced. See who won in