Ohio recreational marijuana: Proposed rules would expand dispensary hours, OK internet order-ahead, self-serve kiosks, drive-throughs
Patients would have more options for purchasing marijuana, under the newly proposed rules under review by state officials. Ohio's Department of Cannabis Control has proposed a 45-page rules package that would expand dispensary hours, allow internet order-ahead, self-serve kiosks, expanded hours of business and curbside service. The rules also outline how cannabis businesses should dispose of unwanted or deteriorated product, caps on how many state-issued marijuana licenses an owner can possess, and distance businesses from churches, schools and public parks. The proposal is part of the effort by the Division of Cannabis control to build up the adult-use program approved by 57% of voters in November. While dispensary customers must show ID, drive-through windows would be required to have video monitoring and other security measures. The public has until April 17 to comment on the proposed rules.
Published : 4 weeks ago by lahancock, Laura Hancock, Laura Hancock | [email protected] in Health
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio recreational marijuana customers would be allowed to order cannabis and paraphernalia on dispensary websites and pick it up in person under a new proposal in a 45-page rules package now under consideration by state officials.
Patients would have more options for purchasing marijuana under the newly proposed rules the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control made public Wednesday afternoon. It would allow drive-through windows, self-serving kiosks, expanded hours of business and curbside service on a case-by-case basis.
The rules package also contained pages of detail proposing how cannabis businesses are to dispose of unwanted or deteriorated product, caps on how many state-issued marijuana licenses an owner can possess, and how far the businesses need to be from churches, schools and public parks, among other details.
The rules package is part of the effort by the Division of Cannabis Control to stand up the adult-use program, which 57% of voters approved in November. The division proposes having the first round of dispensary license approvals ready Sept. 7, for existing medical marijuana dispensaries seeking a dual-use license to also serve recreational customers. (Dispensaries would have to pass inspections before they would be allowed to open for adult-use.)
Wednesday’s proposal is the latest in a handful of waves of different rules introduced so far.
READ MORE: Regulators eye deadline to license recreational marijuana businesses. How could it affect dispensary openings?
None of the rules at this point have been finalized. The proposed rules go through a series of reviews by Lt. Gov. Jon Husted’s office and lawmakers. Members of the public have until April 17 to email comments on this package of rules to [email protected].
New hours and adults-only (most of the time)
The rules propose allowing dispensaries to be open for business between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Currently, medical marijuana dispensaries are only allowed to sell product between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The proposed rules would require dispensary customers to present a government-issued photo ID. Only those aged 21 and older would be allowed to enter the designed retail area.
Medical marijuana patients under age 21 can enter the area if they present their patient identification. If under 18, they must be accompanied by their registered caregiver, the proposed rules state.
While people could purchase marijuana product, pipes and other paraphernalia online, , the proposed rules state, the customer must show ID when they pick it up.
Ditto with drive-through windows. Customers must show ID. Drive-throughs would be required to have video monitoring and other security measures, the proposed rules state.
The proposal also envisions technologies of the future by allowing dispensaries to use self-serve ordering kiosks, which are computers at the dispensary that allow people to order. But the area must be secure and surveilled to prevent product theft.
And the kiosks wouldn’t completely get rid of dispensary employees: After ordering, the customer must still receive the product from an employee. The kiosks would not be allowed to directly dispense to customers, the proposals state.
Dispensaries would be allowed to petition the state to offer curbside pickup services, under the proposed rules.
The area surrounding the curb would have to be secure and video-monitored. Dispensary employees would require the customer to present their ID.
Curbside pickup isn’t entirely new. It was allowed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain social distancing standards.
The rules package includes a lengthy proposal for the disposal of excess, unwanted, deteriorated or misbranded cannabis.
Disposal must be under video surveillance and in a manner to render the cannabis unusable and non-retrievable. Before destruction, the marijuana must be weighed and recorded into the state’s inventory tracking system and separated from other inventory intended for distribution. It must be kept in a secure location, the rules state.
During destruction, it must be ground with other types of waste in a mixture that is at least 51% non-cannabis waste.
The following would be the allowable other types of waste for the mixture: paper waste, cardboard waste, food waste, yard or garden waste, grease or other compostable oil waste, compost activators such as Borkashi or other waste that’s approved by state regulators, the rules state.
Companies would have to maintain records of cannabis destruction and disposal, including the rationale for destruction, and date and time an of disposed marijuana.
Stalks, stems, roots and “fan leaves,” or large leaves that contain little THC, are not considered cannabis waste.
The current destruction rules for medical marijuana are similar to the proposed rule, but also allow soil to be part of the mixture, and don’t say anything about stalks, stems, roots and fan leaves.
Stay away from the children
Marijuana facilities would have to be at least 500 feet away from “prohibited facilities” – which include churches, public libraries, playgrounds and parks – measured as the shortest distance between the prohibited facility’s property line to the cannabis business’ structure, the proposed rules state.
This is a change from the law for medical marijuana businesses, which requires 500 feet between the property lines of the cannabis business and the prohibited facility. The original requirement would be rescinded if the proposed rule, which is more favorable to business owners, were to be adopted.
The remaining sections of the proposed rule package have to do with surety bonds and other financial requirements business owners must maintain, and other parts of operations, including:
-No person would be allowed to own, control or have a financial interest in more than one cultivator, one processor, one testing lab or eight dispensaries. Currently, there is a license cap of five for dispensaries.
-Changes of less than 10% of the ownership of a marijuana dispensary does not need state approval, only a notice to the state that the change is occurring. Currently, medical dispensaries need to seek permission and pay fees for a change of 10% or more of a licensed corporation’s outstanding shares of voting stock.
Laura Hancock covers state government and politics for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.
Topics: Cannabis, Drug Trafficking