Recreational marijuana sales in Ohio inch closer with first harvests and certifications

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A group of businesses in Ohio has received the first authorizations to work with recreational marijuana, as the state's first crop intended for this type of sale has also crossed a milestone.

Medical dispensaries and other industry players have been waiting for certificates of operation -- the last paperwork needed before they can convert to dual-use -- and in the storefronts' case, to start selling recreational marijuana. A majority of the state's cannabis businesses applied to make the switch, and the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control already gave many of them provisional licenses to prep before the green light.

However, DCC Public Information Officer Jamie Crawford confirmed 10 certificates of operation had been issued as of Tuesday. But the caveat comes when breaking that number down to which businesses received them: four cannabis cultivators and six processing facilities. No dispensaries obtained their certificate, meaning they remain locked to only selling medical marijuana. Customers, for their part, can't buy recreationally yet and are only allowed to grow their own.

These were the growing facilities and processors holding certificates of operation as of Tuesday:

• Pure Ohio Wellness, LLC - Both cultivator and processor branches in Springfield
• GTI Ohio, LLC - Both cultivator and processor branches in Toledo
• AT-CPC of Ohio, LLC - Both cultivator and processor branches in Akron
• Farkas Farms, LLC - Cultivator in Grafton
• One Orijin, LLC - Processor in Columbus
• Riviera Creek Holdings II, LLC - Processor in Youngstown
• FN Group Holdings, LLC - Processor in Ravenna Township

Attorney Paula Savchenko of Cannacore Group, a Florida-based firm that helps companies secure licensing to do business with cannabis, told NBC4 that Ohio's rollout is a common approach.

"This is actually typical in most states where the cultivators and manufacturers will get the licenses first before the retailers, because the cultivators and manufacturers need to be able to produce the product to supply the retail stores," Savchenko said. "So, in states where you're seeing the retail licenses given out first, those retail stores actually end up having to operate without product for a significant amount of time, and it's really smart that the state decided to do it this way."

Crawford agreed with Savchenko's analysis in comments to NBC4. He previously used a metaphor of "multiple windows" at the BMV to describe dispensaries and their counterparts in line to get certificates. With the first batch issued, he told NBC4 that these new ticket holders had a more streamlined approval process when it was their turn.

"Given the fact that cultivators, processors and testing labs are less complicated than dispensaries – and to ensure an efficient supply chain – cultivators, processes and labs receive some priority over dispensaries when it comes to issuance of certificates of operation to help ensure that, once Certificates of Operation are issued to dispensaries, there is nonmedical product available for adult consumers to purchase," Crawford said.

He also detailed some of the steps that dispensaries are going through before they will also get certified.

"In order to receive their certificate of operation, dispensaries will be required to show they are able to properly process adult use and medical sales, as well as provide proof of training, which could take a little longer to process than the types of operators," Crawford said.

Even before getting a certificate, some of Ohio's cannabis industry has already geared up for launch day. In May, NBC4 visited Cresco Labs' growing facility in Yellow Springs, where its team planted the state's first marijuana crop intended for recreational products. The company's chief communications officer, Jason Erkes, confirmed that two months later, the same plants were harvested and ready.

"We harvested more than 300 pounds of flower from our first crop earmarked for the adult-use market," Erkes said. "Once they go through the drying and curing process, we’ll begin preparing them for market with about 75% being packaged as tenths or half ounces of flower, and the rest being manufactured into edibles or vapes ready for market by the time adult-use sales launch."

Past predictions on when recreational sales could start have missed the mark. Lawmakers who approved the dual-use approach for cannabis dispensaries guessed "mid-June," while Story Cannabis' CEO estimated the week of June 23. More recently, Erkes said he thinks July will be the month. But even since March, storefronts like Sunnyside Dispensaries under Cresco's fold have been getting ready for the big day, whenever it is.