MJBiz - September/October 2024 - 24

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS State by State
Ohio
Dozens of medical cannabis dispensaries in Ohio began selling adult-use marijuana products
on Aug. 6, ushering in a new era for the state and another potential billion-dollar market in
the Midwest.
The final green light for recreational marijuana sales was given to 98 stores earlier in the
day, when the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control issued dual-use
certificates of operation to those businesses.
Most of those retailers started selling on opening day, Aug. 6, a Tuesday, with other
licensees commencing recreational sales throughout later that week.
Retail entrants in the expanded but limited-license market include several multistate
operators, including Ayr Wellness and Verano Holdings Corp., plus some local operators.
Ohio market sales are projected to eclipse $1 billion in 2025 and hit $1.5 billion-$2 billion by
the end of 2027, according to updated MJBizDaily forecasts.
Ohio is the 21st
U.S. market to start adult-use sales, following Maryland's launch in July 2023
and Missouri's debut in February 2023.
And similar to Maryland and Missouri, Ohio's recreational market debuted without a social
equity program.
The nearly one-year gap between adult-use market launches is believed to be the marijuana
industry's longest drought since the first wave of consumer access more than a decade ago.
Oklahoma
Officials in Oklahoma enacted stricter standards for medical cannabis testing laboratories,
including a state reference lab to double-check results and a secret-shopper program to
discretely obtain products to verify results.
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority's new rules took effect July 25 and include a
new definition for THC that tries to close the so-called " THCA loophole " that some operators
are exploiting to sell MJ under the claim that it's federally legal hemp.
The OMMA's new lab standards come at the same time as nationwide accusations of
lab malfeasance, including potency inflation and failures to detect potentially dangerous
pesticides and mold. Such allegations recently were made in Oklahoma.
Under Oklahoma's revised rules, marijuana testing labs must follow new state-imposed
standards, including instrumentation calibration and quality-control standards.
There are also new failure thresholds for molds, solvents and heavy metals. Standards for
identified pesticides will remain the same.
Oklahoma state regulators are empowered to:
* Open a " quality assurance laboratory " or contract with a private company to run such a lab.
* Send product to that quality-assurance laboratory for testing and penalizing offenders.
* Deploy " secret shoppers " to inspect dispensaries and other medical marijuana businesses.
* Seize products with an administrative order or emergency declaration of a public-safety
risk.
* Require employees of MMJ businesses to obtain a credential to work in the industry.
The new rules also clarify Oklahoma's definition of total delta-9 THC concentration to
include THCA.
24 September-October 2024 | MJBizMagazine

MJBiz - September/October 2024

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