The legalization of recreational marijuana in Ohio is expected to drive additional demand for cannabis products, creating opportunity and stress alike for Northeast Ohio dispensaries. In the months and years ahead, local owners expect to hire more staff, expand their inventories, and increase production capacity.
Educating consumers will be another key aspect of the coming change, noted Amber Miller, regional manager of , a Missouri-based medical cannabis company that opened a dispensary in Cleveland鈥檚 St. Clair-Superior neighborhood late last year.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in the Ohio market since 2019, and I鈥檝e seen it go through its initial growth phase,鈥� said Miller. 鈥淥nce we get to adult use, we鈥檒l have to retrain our patients. Get the education back out there to an adult-use market that鈥檚 not been privy to it.鈥�
Last November, voters approved a measure allowing recreational cannabis, making Ohio the 24th state to allow adult marijuana use for non-medical purposes. Among the positives of legal and regulated use is the potential detrimental impact on the black market, supporters said.
鈥淲e know that this product does well for our health, but now you鈥檙e giving access where your average patient isn鈥檛 going off-market,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淲e can trust that buying from one of our establishments is getting people quality, tested products.鈥�
Shangri-La, which serves about 60-70 patients daily at its Cleveland location, is already seeing a drop in medical customers since the November vote. A short-term decrease is to be expected as consumers weigh the benefits of renewing their medical cards during what amounts to a limbo period, said Miller.
Days after the state鈥檚 GOP-controlled Senate advanced legislation to undo key provisions of the cannabis initiative 鈥� including delaying legalization for at least a year 鈥� the Senate then passed a revised bill that would allow adults to start buying marijuana from existing dispensaries in as soon as 90 days.
In the meantime, cannabis storefronts are gearing up for adult-use sales. Miller expects Shangri-La to eventually service up to 500-600 customers per day, an uptick that will require educating off-the-street consumers new to cannabis.
鈥淒ispensaries are over-hiring, because we know in a few months we鈥檙e going to need more people鈥� said Miller. 鈥淚鈥檝e got a few management positions open now. When I鈥檓 hiring any staff or management, I鈥檓 trying to hire people with experience so, as we continue to grow in this market, I鈥檝e got my core people down that can hit the ground running.鈥�
Working in limbo
Ohio had about as of November 2023, a figure that will rise in the coming years, said Lenny Berry, founder of the , a resource hub for the rapidly developing medical cannabis and hemp industries.
Yet, the sale and purchase of recreational marijuana remains illegal until state regulators can license dispensaries. Berry鈥檚 annual summit, aimed at both the general public and cannabis professionals, can be part of a mass education effort in light of the new law, he said.
鈥淲e have millions of new patients with legalization - anyone 21 and over can go purchase the medicine at a dispensary with a driver鈥檚 license,鈥� Berry said. 鈥淵ou will have people who鈥檝e never experienced it who want to try it for the first time. My goal is to educate them so they understand cannabis and how it interacts with their body.鈥�
Serving the burgeoning 鈥渃anna-curious鈥� population also means understanding the rules around opening a recreational dispensary 鈥� or including adult-use in an existing shop, said Berry. Owners must find jurisdictions that provide a 500-foot buffer between would-be cannabis businesses and 鈥溾�� such as schools and churches.
Current marijuana entrepreneurs should also be considering their inventory, particularly as state officials hammer out details of two competing bills introduced following the passage of Issue 2, said Berry.
For example, 鈥� approved 28-2 in the Senate on December 6 鈥� permits smoking, vaping and cannabis combustion within a private residence. (Another piece of marijuana legislation, , is awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives.)
With pre-roll marijuana 鈥渏oints鈥� one of the most popular products on the legal market, dispensary owners may consider adding new brands to their selection. Moreover, cannabis producers should be busy building out their grows, Berry said.
鈥淕rowers have not maximized their square footage, because they didn鈥檛 have a need to,鈥� said Berry. 鈥淭hey can get an uptick in their grow scenarios to accommodate what the future is going to bring in terms of need.鈥�
The work ahead
Expanded access will ideally keep Ohioans from spending their cannabis dollars in Michigan, which legalized recreational marijuana in 2018, said Kate Nelson, executive vice president of the Midwest and Northeast regions at Acreage Holdings, a medical marijuana company with in Northeast Ohio.
Nelson also emphasized the importance of education, as local dispensaries are currently fielding calls about use and purchasing rules. In studying similarly sized markets, Ohio should expect a 150%-200% surge in sales upon official legalization - a number that will tail off, even as increased inventory and new hires should remain in the forefront, she said.
鈥淎s we get close to adult-use sales, we鈥檒l see an expansion of staffing and workforce, and an expansion of retail hours so dispensaries are open longer hours and during more days of the week,鈥� Nelson said.
Robert Pease, Chief Executive Officer of the Euclid medical cannabis store Good River Wellness, said newbies and veteran consumers should expect a temporary rise in pricing, depending on how readily supply meets demand. While the industry in Ohio remains in its relative infancy, it must be nonetheless prepared for the forthcoming tsunami of new customers, said Pease.
鈥淭he goal is to provide an exceptional experience 鈥� that鈥檚 a combination of a well-curated product lineup and products at good prices,鈥� Pease said. 鈥淭hen there鈥檚 giving folks the right information to make good decisions. It鈥檚 pretty straightforward, but in a new market, it will take some work to get there.鈥�
