First day marijuana can be purchased for recreational use in Ohio
A line formed around 7:20 a.m. to get to Zen Leaf Cincinnati when the doors opened at 9 a.m. Tuesday for the first day of recreational marijuana sales in Ohio.
Marijuana dispensaries in the Greater Cincinnati area say a large portion of their first recreational customers come from out of state—some estimates range from 40 to 50 percent.
On Tuesday, Ohio began selling marijuana legally for recreational use for the first time. While Ohio authorities do not track customers from other states, individual dispensaries are required to check the identification of all customers. Employees contacted by the Enquirer say that while most customers are from Ohio, residents from Kentucky and Indiana are not far away.
“Some people think it’s 50/50 or at least 40%” of customers from out of state, says Jason Littman, co-founder of Hundred Percent Labs in Brown County, a licensed processor that makes products such as gummies and vape cartridges for Ohio dispensaries. Littman says he visited several of the stores he supplies this week and heard stories of customers coming from neighboring states and beyond.
“Kentucky is obviously there. I heard Indiana too,” Littman said. Other states included Tennessee, Alabama, Texas and Minnesota — although he suspects people from the farthest states just happened to be in the area anyway.
That’s consistent with information The Enquirer obtained from Nectar, a Westwood dispensary. According to Justin Mack, zone manager for the Ohio stores, Nectar made about 400 sales on Tuesday alone. Of those Tuesday sales in Westwood, 40% of the shoppers came from out of state, Mack said, and most of those came from Kentucky and Indiana.
That’s no surprise to Melissa Merse, a Cincinnati resident and regional manager for cannabis company PharmaCann. Merse manages three Verilife retail stores in Ohio, including one in Cincinnati.
Her stores, which are among 116 stores statewide now allowed to sell both medical and recreational cannabis, previously sold only medical cannabis. She and other dispensary operators said people from out of state regularly stopped by the stores to find out when Ohio would authorize recreational sales after voters approve it in November 2023.
James Crawford, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Cannabis Control, said the department will not maintain a database to determine the residency of buyers because it lacks the technology to do so.
“In addition, the law passed by Ohio voters last November does not provide for a determination of residency for non-medical clients,” Crawford said in an email.
Transporting marijuana products across state borders is illegal
To be clear, it is illegal for out-of-state residents to take recreational cannabis purchased in Ohio across state lines, regardless of the legal status of marijuana in the buyer’s destination state.
In Kentucky, medical marijuana is legal, but recreational use is not. In Indiana, selling, possessing or growing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes is illegal. Some counties in Indiana have decriminalized marijuana, but police warn residents that it is still illegal overall.
“Remember, Indiana state law has not changed,” Sergeant John Perrine of the Indiana State Police told Fox59 this week. “Regardless of what county you are in, the Indiana State Police will follow that state law and enforce it accordingly.”
Dispensaries contacted by the Enquirer on Thursday confirmed that regardless of the legalities, some out-of-towners will certainly cross state lines to buy products and transport them illegally to their home states. This is already a problem in Michigan, where many cannabis shops are now popping up in towns along the state border.
Prices in Michigan are falling, but problems are emerging
Michigan legalized cannabis for recreational use in 2018. Since then, the state has been a destination for cannabis tourists. The dispensaries in the Detroit metropolitan area attracted many customers from Ohio even before the first sales on Tuesday.
And some may still travel there because prices are lower in Michigan than in Ohio, although there is some controversy about that.
Pharmacies in Ohio hope that by offering better quality products, they can lure customers away from Michigan, even though prices are higher here.
“I feel like this is going to be a booming industry that will have a lasting and huge positive impact on our economy,” Mack said. “I’m just really excited to be part of this movement that not only helps the economy, but also helps patients and society as a whole.”
Could Cincinnati become a cannabis destination?
Courtney Pavlak, regional manager for Uplift Milford, said sales have been strong all week, with Tuesday being the peak with 789 sales. On a typical day before recreational marijuana was legalized, the location probably had about 250 medical cannabis sales.
About 30% of sales in those first few days went to out-of-state customers, mostly Kentucky. She expects Cincinnati could become a cannabis tourist destination like Detroit.
“Cincinnati already has so much to offer. This will definitely increase that potential,” she said.
Littman agreed, but added that those who buy here should also consume it here.
“It’s a great place for travelers who want to buy cannabis, enjoy the city and enjoy the products before they head home,” he said.
