US fashion retailer, Canadian producer team up for MMJ license

In a bid to acquire a medical marijuana license in Ohio, a major Canadian MMJ producer is partnering with a company in the Buckeye State known for retail clothing.

Canada’s Aphria and the Columbus, Ohio-based Schottenstein family – which owns fashion retailers American Eagle and DSW – are vying for one of the two dozen MMJ cultivation licenses up for grabs in the state, the Dayton Daily News reported.

Ohio doesn’t require residency for MMJ licensees, but having an in-state connection could certainly help Aphria’s chances. The state’s application fees are some of the highest in the nation, and having two well-capitalized companies on the same team also could sway the odds in their favor.

Schottenstein Aphria LLC – one of 185 applicants hoping to enter Ohio’s fledgling medical cannabis market – is seeking a license for a 25,000-square-foot grow facility, the newspaper reported.

If granted a license, the company would operate as Liberty Health Sciences, according to the Daily News. The company started listing on the Canadian Stock Exchange on Wednesday under the ticker symbol LSH.

Aphria hopes to locate an Ohio cultivation facility outside Amherst – in the northern part of the state – to be closer to its Canadian operations, according to the newspaper.