CLEVELAND — The wait for Ohioans, who voted to legalize buying recreational marijuana, will soon be over.
According to a statement from the Ohio Department of Commerce, recreational sales of marijuana will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
"We intend to issue the first set of non-medical licenses on Tuesday," the department said. "There will be no sales over the weekend. We will provide a formal announcement on Monday."
Officials with a dispensary in Northeast Ohio also told 3News that the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control has begun notifying marijuana dispensaries that they will be able to begin recreational sales on Tuesday.
The news comes after Ohioans voted this past November to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and older.
“I can’t emphasize enough the work that OHCANN members alongside DCC have put in to bring us to this day,” says OHCANN Spokesperson Tom Haren. “We are stepping into a new future for Ohio where citizens will have access to safe products and communities will feel the benefits of this growing industry through tax revenue and job opportunities.”
3News' partner, Cleveland.com spoke with Haren, who said that many of its members have been notified. The specific number of members who have been notified is unknown.
“Right this second, the state is in process of authorizing some dispensaries to begin adult use sales on Aug. 6, which is several months ahead of schedule from where we thought the program would be at this time last year,” Haren told Cleveland.com in their report Friday. “So we’re incredibly grateful to the hard work of the staff at the Division (of Cannabis Control) for moving this along quickly and being able to roll out quickly an adult-use schedule -- while at the same time ensuring that they’re addressing consumer safety, so that we can provide Ohioans with a true alternative to the illicit market, and an opportunity to buy legal regulated, tested and taxed products.”
The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control released the following statement to 3News on Friday as well:
"Non-medical sales in Ohio have not yet begun because no dispensary has received their dual-use Certificate of Operation which is necessary in order to sell non-medical cannabis. Once dispensaries receive their Certificate of Operation, the Division of Cannabis Control will be updating this map showing which dispensaries are open to adult-use customers. We will also issue additional information via a news release when COO’s become active."
In recent weeks, The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) has issued dozens of the state’s first dual certificates of operation for marijuana growers, processors and testing labs. This is so the facilities can begin working with both medical and recreational marijuana.