With the possession, use and home growth of marijuana for Ohioans who are 21 and older, those in the cannabis industry nationwide are waiting with bated breath for sale to start in one of the country鈥檚 most populous states.
鈥淥hio is a very exciting market,鈥� said Rodney Holcombe, the director of public policy for LeafLink, a marijuana wholesaling platform that connects brands with dispensaries and other retail distributors.
Sale to adult-use, non-medical customers is not yet legal. Under Issue 2, the Ohio Department of Commerce鈥攚hich will oversee the new program鈥攈as about nine months to begin issuing licenses to new and existing dispensaries.
Absent a medical license, easy legal access to marijuana won鈥檛 come to most Ohio customers for some time. Even after they are licensed, Holcombe said testing bottlenecks or stock delays are common in freshly legal markets, meaning initial prices might be higher than what Ohioans are seeking.
鈥淏ut I think that begins to change,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e see more product that鈥檚 floated into the market from newer processors and newer growers, and then we see prices begin to stabilize and we see more market participation.鈥�
LeafLink, like other wholesalers and retailers, is watching Ohio lawmakers closely right now, because changes made to the law could determine how the program rolls out.
Last Wednesday鈥攁bout six hours before Issue 2 became law as is鈥攁 bill to change adult-use cannabis laws cleared the Ohio Senate 28-2. It still allows , but limits it, creates a THC content ceiling on extracts, and retools the taxes involved, among other changes. Gov. Mike DeWine urged the Ohio House to vote on those changes, too.
鈥淲hat we don't want is a situation where the black market grows, and we don't want a situation really where people don't know what the rules are. And we just need to get this done," DeWine said.
Setting a ceiling on THC content for concentrates and extracts at 50%, however, is not common, Holcombe said.
鈥淭hey certainly are different than the approach taken by many other jurisdictions,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is just one of those instances where we could run the risk of encouraging, you know, illicit operators who have more potent products to sell those products.鈥�
One of the biggest modifications senators voted on Wednesday would enable licensed medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling products to non-medical customers within 90 days of the governor鈥檚 signature.