Ohio Cannabis Customers Spend $11.5 Million in First 5 Days

Ohio’s adult-use cannabis sales are just heating up, but early signs indicate the Buckeye State will join the likes of the nation’s billion-dollar markets from the get-go.

The state’s licensed dispensaries sold more than $11.5 million in adult-use sales in the first five days of retail operations from Aug. 6-10, according to sales data released by the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC). That’s the equivalent of roughly $842 million over 365 days.

In addition, Ohio’s dispensaries sold more than $8.3 million in medical cannabis sales for the week that ended Aug. 10, according to the DCC. That’s roughly another $430 million over 52 weeks. (Before Ohio's adult-use sales launch, Ohio's medical-only cannabis market was averaging roughly $9.3 million in sales per week.)

With those two markets combined, Ohio is on pace for nearly $1.3 billion in annual cannabis sales per year, easily besting how Michigan performed during its first full year of a commercial program in 2020: $510 million in adult-use sales and $474 million in medical sales, according to the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency.

In 2024, Michigan’s cannabis sales are on pace to hit $3.3 billion during the state’s fifth year. In addition, California’s licensed dispensaries are projected to sell more than $4.7 billion in adult-use and medical cannabis in 2024, Illinois is projected to sell $2 billion, and Massachusetts is projected to sell $1.8 billion as the nation’s largest markets serving both patients and adult-use customers.

In Ohio, the adult-use marketplace launched Aug. 6 with 98 dispensaries approved to sell nonmedical cannabis to those 21 years and older, according to the state’s Department of Commerce. Another 18 dispensaries received approval on Aug. 8.

RELATED: 98 Ohio Dispensaries Approved to Launch Adult-Use Cannabis Sales

As of Aug. 14, Ohio regulators had provided dual-use certificates of operation—allowing both adult-use and medical sales—to 120 of 134 dispensaries that applied.

Some dispensaries that received their dual-use licensure did not officially commence adult-use sales until this week, including two stores owned by Arizona-based Story Cannabis and one by New York-based Ascend Wellness.

A privately held multistate operator, Story Cannabis commenced adult-use sales at its two Cincinnati dispensaries on Aug. 14, which followed the company’s launch of adult-use sales at its Coshocton location on Aug. 9.

“It is an honor to be among the first Ohio dispensaries to provide recreational cannabis to the community,” Story Cannabis CEO and founder Jason Vedadi said in a release provided to Cannabis Business Times. “We will continue to serve our medical community while expanding our reach in the greater Cincinnati and Coshocton areas.”

RELATED: Cannabis Rescheduling Nearly ‘Done Deal,’ Story Cannabis CEO Says

A publicly traded multistate operator, Ascend Wellness began adult-use sales Aug. 15 at its Carroll dispensary outside of Columbus. The company also began welcoming nonmedical customers last week at its other four Ohio dispensaries in Cincinnati, Coshocton, Piqua and Sandusky.

“We’ve been thrilled by the enthusiastic response from our local communities as nonmedical cannabis sales began last week in Ohio,” Ascend CEO John Hartman said in a press release. “Since transitioning the first four of our stores, we’ve seen an initial revenue surge by at least three times previous sales and, in some cases, even higher. With this transition to nonmedical sales at our fifth store in Carroll, we look forward to watching the momentum in the state continue and take pride in the high standards of quality, excellence and care that allow us to meet the needs of returning patients and new customers across this burgeoning cannabis market.”

Chicago-based multistate operator Verano, meanwhile, opened all five of its Zen Leaf Ohio dispensaries to adult-use customers last week.

“Ohioans were clearly ready and excited for the historic end of cannabis prohibition in the Buckeye State,” Verano Chief Operating Officer Trip McDermott said in a statement provided to CBT. “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.” 

Overall, Ohio’s dual-use dispensaries sold 1,285 pounds of adult-use flower during the first five days last week and 173,043 units of manufactured products, such as edibles, vaporizer cartridges and tinctures, totaling 138,466 receipts, according to the DCC.

For the week that ended Aug. 10, Ohio’s average price for one-tenth ounce of cannabis flower was $26.59, or roughly $266 per ounce, representing a 19.7% increase from the average medical-only flower price of $22.21 per tenth from the previous week, according to the DCC. (The division did not provide separate price points for adult-use and medical flower from the first week of sales.)

In addition to the 134 dispensaries that applied for dual-use certificates of operation, Ohio regulators intend to provide another roughly 170 dispensary licenses to the state’s medical cannabis companies for retail facilities that don’t yet exist as well as another 50 dispensary licenses to social equity applicants.