CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — More than 1,400 companies applied to receive one of the 73 permits to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Ohio.
The applications released this week were part of the state’s latest attempt to add additional dispensaries around the state. The licenses will be awarded by a random lottery, with a certain number allowed for state-created districts containing a county or group of counties. Since 2007, the state has issued 58 permits.
The applications cost $5,000 each to apply, which was quite a payday for the state with a total of 1,462 applications submitted last month.
In the district created by the state that encompasses Fayette, Greene, and Madison counties, only one company applied: Big Perm’s Dispensary Ohio, LLC on McArthur Road in Jeffersonville. Assuming the applicant passes the required background and security checks, the permit is likely to be issued.
In other areas across the state in the Scioto Valley, a lottery will determine who will get the remaining permits.
Five applications were submitted in Chillicothe, which already has one medical dispensary along Bridge Street. The additional new proposed sites included Marietta Road, Hopetown Road, and Western Avenue.
In Pickaway County, four applications were submitted for Circleville, to mostly include locations along Court Street and route 23, while a total of nine applications were filed for dispensaries in Pike County, with the majority to line route 23
The state’s pharmacy board said they will choose the winners in January.
House Bill 523, effective on September 8, 2016, legalized medical marijuana in Ohio. The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program allows people with certain medical conditions, upon the recommendation of an Ohio-licensed physician certified by the State Medical Board, to purchase and use medical marijuana.