Almost 400 apply for Ohio’s medical marijuana dispensary licenses

Be at the forefront of cannabis and psychedelics science and innovation. Register by March 14 & Save $100 on tickets to The Emerald Conference by MJBiz Science, April 1-3 in San Diego.


Ohio regulators are sorting through 370 applications for business licenses to open medical cannabis dispensaries.

Now that the deadline for applications has passed, the state’s Board of Pharmacy must begin the task of finding the best candidates, the Toledo Blade reported.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Ohio planned to award up to 60 dispensary licenses statewide, but no applications were received for two geographic districts that accounted for three of the permits.
  • Dispensaries can sell oil, patches, edibles, flower and other approved medical cannabis products.
  • The state prohibits smoking medical cannabis, but dispensaries will be permitted to sell flower to be vaporized.
  • The Commerce Department has the power to award more licenses based on market demand once the program is operational by Sept. 8, 2018.
  • No date has been set for license approval.
  • Licenses yet to be awarded: large-scale cultivation, processors and testing labs.