COLUMBUS – On the one-year anniversary of recreational marijuana sales in Ohio, some local retailers say the rollout has been slower than expected.
About 57% of Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2023 to legalize the sale of marijuana for recreational adult use. Those sales began Aug. 6, 2024.
Given the success of recreational sales in other states, retailers expected a big boom right off the bat, said Tracey McMillin, chief operating officer of Pure Ohio Wellness, which operates dispensaries in several counties.
“We all kind of thought it was going to be like some of the other states where there were lines around the block and you were selling out every day,” McMillin said. “I think because of the conservative way that the program has been rolled out, that was not the case.”
That’s because, one year later, state regulators are still working on rules, such as the types of products and the amounts that can be sold, McMillin said.
Pete Nischt, vice president at Akron-based Klutch Cannabis, said managing consumer expectations while awaiting all of the regulations has been a challenge. Customers ask why they can’t purchase pre-rolls — commonly known as joints — like they can in other states, he said.
“People come into the store and they ask questions — ‘Why don’t you guys have pre-rolls? Why don’t you have this kind of product yet? Why are you selling in this increment and not this increment?’” Nischt explained.
He added that he expects the Ohio market to take off like in other states once those rules are addressed and clarified.
The Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Cannabis Control released guidance for selling joints last week, and dispensaries should be able to start sales soon, McMillin said.
Once that happens, she’s expecting a major uptick in sales.
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