COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Since marijuana became legal for recreational use in Ohio, marijuana sales have exploded and growers are operating at full capacity.
In the first five days that recreational marijuana was available at dispensaries across the state, nearly $12 million in sales were reported.
At some locations, sales have nearly tripled, keeping gardeners like King City Gardens in the Cincinnati area busy.
The cultivation center sells to about 130 dispensaries. The co-founder says that number will grow to over 400 as more locations receive recreational cultivation approval and additional ones are built. The center utilizes every inch of indoor growing space from the ground up.
“A lot of dispensaries are placing a lot of orders,” said Caveh Azadeh, co-founder of King City Gardens. “We’re seeing our products selling much faster than before, so that’s very exciting.”
King City Gardens has built up a stockpile of 11,000 pounds of marijuana. Azadeh said the company can have even more plants now that it has a dual license to sell medical and recreational marijuana. It is also increasing its workforce. This time last year, the company had no employees; now it has 180, and plans to hire more as it opens its own dispensaries.
Some wonder if the new demand for recreational drugs will threaten medical care, but Azadeh says this will not be the case, as dual-use cannabis growers will be allowed more plants than existing medical growers.
