Sales data released by the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control shows that dispensaries in the Buckeye State sold over $11 million worth of recreational marijuana in just five days.
Sales of recreational cannabis began on August 6, and as of August 10, approximately 1,285 pounds of non-medical plant material had been sold, according to the report, along with 173,043 units of manufactured products such as edibles.
Total sales of non-medical cannabis amounted to $11,530,708, the report said.
The report does not say how much of that roughly $11.5 million was tax revenue for the state. When recreational marijuana users pay a combined excise and sales tax, they face a 15.75 percent tax at the dispensary, plus the local tax of the city, town or county in which they are located.
The 10% excise tax is split between the Cannabis Social Equity and Job Fund (which receives 36%), the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (25%), the Division of Cannabis Control and Department of Taxation (3%), and local municipalities with dispensaries across the state (36%).
Recreational use of marijuana was legalized in Ohio on November 7, 2023.
The first wave of operating permits to sell recreational marijuana products to the public went to dispensaries that already had a license to sell medical marijuana, which has been legal in Ohio since 2019. The Division of Cannabis Control issued permits to 98 different dispensaries across Ohio on August 6, but more dispensaries are expected to receive permits over time.
The DCC said the certificates would be issued in roughly the order in which companies submitted their applications at the start of the application period earlier this year.
You can search for licensed dispensaries on the Division of Cannabis Control website here. The department also has a searchable map that it says it will continue to update as more licenses are issued in the future.
Overall, the operating licenses were issued about a month ahead of the Sept. 7 deadline set out in the law passed by Ohio voters last November.
There are currently no dispensaries in Clinton and Adams counties with provisional dual vending licenses or recreational vending operating permits, according to the DCC’s list and its online database released Monday.
RELATED ARTICLES:
Watch live:
WCPO 9 News at 5 p.m.
