Ohio Issues 15 More Licenses for Adult-Use Market

The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) provided final approval to 15 more businesses to commence adult-use operations on July 24, including eight cultivators, six processors and one testing laboratory. This is in addition to the 10 certificates of operation the division issued on July 19.

To date, the division has provided the thumbs up to 25 licensees, allowing them to serve both the medical and adult-use markets through dual-use licensure. However, the supply chain for a functionable marketplace is not yet complete.

The dual-use license approvals are broken down as follows:

• 8 Level I cultivators (15 still have provisional licensure)
• 4 Level II cultivators (10 still have provisional licensure)
• 12 processors (30 still have provisional licensure)
• 1 testing laboratory (6 still have provisional licensure)
• 0 dispensaries (134 still have provisional licensure)
  

In this latest batch, the DCC approved dual-use certificates of operation for two of the largest publicly traded cannabis companies in the nation: Verano and Cresco Labs—both based in Chicago.

Verano operates a cultivation and processing facility in Canton, Ohio, as well as five Zen Leaf dispensaries in Canton, Cincinnati, Dayton, Newark and Bowling Green. The company provided the following statement to CBT:

“We’re incredibly excited to receive dual-use certificates for our state-of-the-art cultivation and processing facility in Canton, bringing Ohioans one step closer to purchasing safe, legal adult-use cannabis products while also unlocking economic growth, creating jobs, delivering local and state revenue, and undoing decades of harmful prohibitionist policies. Our Verano team has deep experience executing seamless transitions from medical to adult use in a number of states, and we are ready to welcome adult-use guests alongside our valued patients at our five existing Zen Leaf stores across the Buckeye State upon the commencement of adult-use sales, as well as our sixth Zen Leaf Ohio dispensary opening in the near future that will be conveniently located within 20 minutes of Fort Wayne, Ind.”

Meanwhile, Cresco Labs operates a greenhouse cultivation and processing facility in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and five Sunnyside dispensaries in Cincinnati, Wintersville, Newark, Marion and Chillicothe.

“We are thrilled to be among the first cultivators approved as Ohio moves one step closer to launching adult-use cannabis across the state,” Jason Erkes, chief communications officer at Cresco, said in a statement provided to CBT and other media members. “This license allows us to grow, manufacture and distribute our brands of cannabis products to Sunnyside and other dispensaries once they receive their final approval for adult-use sales.”

Erkes said the company will continue monitoring other approvals issued by the DCC, as the adult-use market can’t operate across the entire supply chain until dispensaries receive the go-ahead from the state.

The division plans to issue dual-use certificates of operation to dispensaries after prioritizing cultivators, processors and testing labs, Jamie Crawford, public information officer with the Ohio Department of Commerce, previously told CBT.

Ohio’s voter-approved legalization measure requires the DCC to begin issuing licensing to retailers by Sept. 7, but state officials are working on beating this deadline. The DCC began inspecting dispensaries this week by testing point-of-sale (POS) systems to ensure proper tracking of medical and adult-use sales and capacity for increased consumer traffic.

Businesses must also have security/surveillance systems and proper employee badging in place before receiving their dual-use certificates of operation, according to the DCC. In addition, their standard operating procedures must ensure patient and consumer confidentiality.

Once dispensaries receive their dual-use certificates of operation, there will not be a singular launch day for these businesses to commence adult-use sales.

Although Crawford told CBT on June 21 that it would be up to each individual retail business to determine which day to commence adult-use sales based on proper staffing, inventory and other considerations, the DCC distributed conflicting guidance on July 18: “Once a dispensary receives a dual-use certificate of operation, the dispensary retail sales floor becomes open to members of the public who are 21 years of age or over.”