Tuesday was the first day of recreational marijuana sales in Bliss, Ohio.
General manager James Russell II says the dealer has had over 500 visitors since he began selling recreational marijuana.
“It’s been great to see new faces,” he said. “People from the community come through and experience something that we’ve been told many have been waiting for for decades.”
Bliss Ohio is located on East Main Street and began distributing medical-only marijuana in April 2023 after the store received an operating license from the Ohio Department of Cannabis Control according to Russell.
After Issue 2 was put to the ballot in Ohio on November 7, the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes was officially legalized on Tuesday for people 21 and older.
Russell, a former Kent State student, emphasized that the store is locally owned and serves the Kent community.
“We’re a one-store company,” he said. “We’re not owned by any corporation or anything like that. We have no ties to any other marijuana companies. It’s just us and our small team.”
Bliss Ohio is owned by lobbyists Dwayne and Pamela Siekman, who run the lobbying firm Siekman, Siekman & Associates.
Dalton Moyer, a Bliss, Ohio, employee and Kent native, said that despite the large number of customers since the store began selling recreational drugs, there have not been long lines outside the store.
“Over the last few days of our recreational use, hundreds of people have taken an average of 10 to 15 minutes to get in and out of their cannabis,” he said.
Moyer encouraged residents in the Kent area to “at least give us a try.”
“We have so many different products that people aren’t used to,” he said. “You don’t have to smoke anything. You don’t have to vape anything. You don’t have to eat anything. We have topicals, creams, muscle and joint balms, everything.”
Bliss Ohio products are available to people ages 21 and older.
Michael Neenan is a reporter. You can reach him at (email protected).
