Ohio Recreational Marijuana Sales Surpass $11.5 Million During First Week

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Metro Times Staff

Ohio bought big once recreational marijuana was available

Ohio legal weed sales topped $11.5 million in less than a week. 

The state’s total recreational marijuana sales was $11,530,708 as of Aug. 10, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control. Recreational sales started Aug. 6 — eight months after 57% of Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana. The average of price of an ounce of flower was $266 last week, according to the division.

There were 173,043 units of manufacturer product sold and 1,285 pounds of plant material, according to the division. 

Ohio currently has 120 dual-use dispensaries as of Wednesday, meaning they can sell both medical and non-medical marijuana, according to the division. Ohio had 98 dual-use dispensaries when recreational sales started. 

More than 70 Ohio cities have local moratoriums prohibiting adult-use cannabis business, according to Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law.

Under Ohio’s ballot measure to legalize marijuana, there is a 10% tax at the point of sales for each non-medical marijuana transaction. 

The ballot measure created five funds in the state treasury —  the adult use tax fund, the cannabis social equity and jobs fund, the host community cannabis fund, the substance abuse and addiction fund, and the division of cannabis control and tax commissioner fund. 

Twenty-four states, two territories and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. 

When recreational marijuana sales started in Michigan back in 2019, $1.6 million of recreational marijuana was sold during the first eight days of sales in the state’s five shops that were open, according to the Detroit Free Press. 

Illinois’ 37 dispensaries saw nearly $11 million worth of recreational marijuana sales during their first week in 2020, according to CNN.