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The Ohio Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee met on August 10, 2017. They addressed many subjects, including the Medical Marijuana Control Program’s (MMCP) budget, IT updates on the seed-to-sale program and patient registry, and the proposed dispensary districts.

A committee member wanted confirmation as to what fully operational meant in the eyes of the government. The State plans on having licensees dispense medical marijuana on September 8, 2017. There is some concern that litigation could prevent the program from being fully operational, but committee members were told the law provided no flexibility- the program will be fully operational on September 8.

The MMCP released a two month soft timeline. All rules must be promulgated by September 8, 2017. Laboratory applications will be accepted from public institutions of higher learning for two weeks, beginning September 11, 2017. Private companies will not be allowed to partner with universities to apply in September 2017.

The Chairman of the committee asked if any universities were planning on applying for a lab license. Missy Craddock from the Governor’s Office stated The Ohio State University would not, but others had expressed some interest. Another committee member asked if a delay in having a testing laboratory would delay the program. He was told no, because private labs could be granted a license as early as June 5, 2018, meaning applications could be received from private labs much earlier. This would provide plenty of time to test the medical marijuana prior to September 8, 2018, deadline for the program to be operational.

The twenty-four cultivators who the Department of Commerce determines should receive a provisional license will be released in November 2017. Shortly thereafter, applications will be accepted for processor and dispensary licenses.

The MMCP budget contains revenue from fees collected by the Ohio Department of Commerce and the Ohio Board of Pharmacy for the program. The budget from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, is over $2.5 million. For the following fiscal year, it is just under $2.5 million.

Over $2.3 million was collected from cultivator application fees recently. Other fees to be collected include: cultivator licensure fees; processor, lab, and dispensary application and licensure fees; and patient and caregiver registration fees.

The Board of Pharmacy split the state into four quadrants. The quadrants will have between 10 and 18 medical marijuana dispensaries, depending on population. Larger counties, such as Cuyahoga and Franklin counties, will have 5 dispensaries each.

If you have any questions about the regulation of medical marijuana in Ohio, or how to become licensed, you should consider contacting an attorney at Graff & McGovern. John Izzo of Graff & McGovern can be reached at 614-228-5800, extension 5, or johnizzo@grafflaw.com.