COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio regulators said Tuesday that medical marijuana will not be available to patients by the Sept. 8 deadline set in state law, the Journal-News reports.
The Ohio Department of Commerce officials said none of the 25 licensed cultivators have received their certificates of operation needed before they can begin planting marijuana.
Just one Level 2 cultivator, Pure Ohio Wellness in the Springfield area, has received the required state inspection.
“We know that patients in Ohio circled that date on their calendars and we don’t take that lightly,” said Mark Hamlin of the Ohio Department of Commerce, which oversees cultivator regulations.
LIST: Where medical marijuana will be sold in Greater Cincinnati
Growers, who received provisional licenses in November, have been delayed by weather and construction issues, Hamlin said. Three Level 2 cultivators will be inspected this month and five Level 1 and one Level 2 growers are slated to be inspected in July, he said.
State officials had said they needed to issue certificates of operation by now to some growers in order to have product on dispensary shelves by Sept. 8.
In June 2016, Kasich signed a bill into law that authorizes medical marijuana use by patients with 21 conditions, including cancer or chronic pain, in the form of edibles, oils, patches and vaporizing. Patients and their caregivers will be allowed to possess up to a 90 day supply. Smoking or home growing it is barred.
Regulators have been working for more than a year to issue rules, review applications and announce licenses for cultivators, labs, dispensaries and processors.
“We always knew the timeline was tight and aggressive,” he said.
---
The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO.
