CLEVELAND, Ohio — With legal cannabis sales ready to launch Tuesday, what can consumers expect to see at dispensaries? Long lines? High prices (no pun intended)?
“We anticipate that there will be an influx of new consumers and there may be a surge, and then it will level off to a baseline,” said Pete Nischt, vice president of compliance and communications at Klutch Cannabis, a vertically integrated cannabis operator based in Akron. Klutch operates two dispensaries in northeast Ohio, each named The Citizen, with one located in Lorain and one in Canton. Both dispensaries are approved to begin adult-use sales at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
“I think we’ll see a lot of interest because we have a very educated, well-established cannabis community in Ohio,” he added.
It remains unclear which specific or how many retail operators will begin adult-use sales on Tuesday. State regulators previously stated they planned to issue cultivation and processing licenses before retail to ensure there’s enough marijuana available to supply both markets.
Learning the lingo
If you have never visited a cannabis dispensary, the thought of it might be a bit overwhelming and prompt a bevy of questions, such as: What products are available? How do I ‘shop’ for cannabis? And how do I know what works best for me?
Fortunately, each dispensary is staffed by customer service representatives, more casually known as “budtenders.” The term “budtender” refers to “bud,” a slang term for cannabis flower, and applies to dispensary staff who are trained to help curate your cannabis experience.
“The initial conversation with your budtender or dispensary staff is key,” Nischt said. “They’re already used to working with medical patients that are new to cannabis. It’s our job to really curate an experience that works for you as a consumer.”
When it comes to curating your own cannabis experience, most dispensary menus offer the same categories of products:
— Flower, also referred to buds or nugs, is the smokable part of the cannabis plant and the most popular form of cannabis consumption. Under Ohio’s medical program, it is illegal to “combust” or light cannabis flower for smoking. However, the approved adult-use legislation removes that ban and allows for burning flower with a flame.
— Vaporizers, which are small, portable devices used to heat marijuana flower or oil for smoking.
— Edibles, which are measured in specific doses and include chocolates, gummies, drinks, hard candy, infused marshmallow spread, honey, seasonings and more. There are also capsules, tablets and dissolvables.
— Tinctures, which are cannabis-infused liquids that are consumed and absorbed sublingually.
— Topicals, including lotions, massage oils, muscle salves and patches, and more.
— Concentrates, which are distilled from the desirable compounds of the marijuana plant and consumed via combustion and inhalation.
Cannabis flower, specifically, is traditionally measured and sold in measurements of one gram or per eighth-of-an-ounce. So, if one ounce weights 28.3 grams, one-eighth of cannabis weighs roughly 3.5 grams, one-quarter weights about 7 grams, one-half is 14 grams, etc.
Ohio’s medical program, however, is an oddball and an outlier in that it measures cannabis in tenths: one-tenth is 2.8 grams, two-tenths is 5.6 grams, and so on. It remains to be seen whether those measurement and packaging metrics will still be implemented under Ohio’s adult-use regulations.
For each cannabis product, there’s often numerous options depending on product potency, which is the THC%; terpene profile, which is the aromatic compounds found in cannabis that provide unique scents and effects; aesthetics, and a range of other factors. Most dispensaries also feature digital touch screens that provide additional information about a product, its availability, how much it costs, and more.
If you feel overwhelmed by all of this information and new terminology, you’re not alone. Having a conversation with a budtender or dispensary staffer can ease anxiety and help you get familiar with a new and growing adult-use cannabis industry.
“Finding the right cannabis products is a matchmaking process,” said Jeff McCourt, CEO at Firelands Scientific, a vertically integrated cannabis operator based in Huron, Ohio. FiSci has four dispensaries throughout Ohio, each named “The Landing,” including one each in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Monroe. “Working with one of our customer experience representatives is a great way to find the right product for the right patient or customer.”
Low and slow
Any dispensary budtender can educate consumers on cannabis products and help decide which is right for them, and almost all will repeat the same motto for newbies: “Low and slow.”
The idea is simple: If you were new to alcohol, you wouldn’t introduce yourself with six shots of liquor off the rip. Instead, you might have one drink, see how you feel and go from there. “Low and slow” is the same concept.
“We always recommend new cannabis users start with low dosages and work their way up, allowing time to feel the effects before taking more,” McCourt said. “Asking questions, keeping an open mind and exploring different cannabis products is a great way to learn what your own unique endocannabinoid system prefers.”
Nischt agrees, and recommends new consumers start with a low-dosed edible – 5 mg or less – and wait two to four hours to feel the full effects before taking another dose. Edibles have a slow onset, meaning the onset of effects is gradual and takes longer to kick in. Flower or vapes, meanwhile, are inhaled directly into the bloodstream and therefore have a more immediate onset, but the effects fade sooner than those from an edible.
Limits and legalities
While adult-use cannabis is legal in Ohio and sales are just days away from launching, there are still regulations that consumers need to be aware of.
To purchase cannabis, you’ll need a valid ID and preferably cash due to banking complications caused by cannabis’ federal illegality. However, there are workarounds: Almost every dispensary will have ATMs on-site, and many offer cashless ATM transactions at the point-of-sale that transfer money from your bank account to the store, sometimes for an added fee. Some dispensaries, such as The Citizen, also offer automated clearing house (ACH) payments through apps such as CanPay, which can also sometimes come with fees.
There are limits on how much you can buy, too. Under Issue 2, adults 21 and older can possess a maximum of 2.5 ounces of flower and 15 grams of edibles or extracts.
In addition, while cannabis is now legal in Ohio, employers are still legally allowed to drug test employees for cannabis and can refuse to hire, discipline or fire an employee because of their use or possession of cannabis.
Benefitting communities
The legalization of adult-use cannabis in Ohio will provide a number of benefits to the state and local communities.
Under Issue 2, adult-use cannabis will be taxed differently than medical cannabis. Adult-use customers are subject to a 10% excise tax on purchases (in addition to the 5.75% state sales tax on tangible goods). Medical patients, meanwhile, are not subject to the excise tax but do have specific limits on how much product they can purchase in a 90-day period, similar to pharmacy prescriptions.
Revenue from the 10% excise tax applied to adult-use cannabis sales will be divided into four categories: 36% will go to The Cannabis Social Equity and Jobs Fund, a program which benefits those disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition; 36% will go to The Host Community Cannabis Fund, which benefits municipalities and townships that allow dispensaries; 25% will go to The Substance Abuse and Addiction Fund, which supports the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; and 3% will go to administrative costs of the Ohio Department of Taxation and the Division of Cannabis Control.
By 2028, Ohio expects to collect between $276 million and $403 million in revenue from adult-use marijuana sales, including the excise tax and states and local sales taxes, according to Ohio State’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center.
Nischt said he’s grateful for Ohio’s new adult-use cannabis market, and he believes legalization will address a range of issues that constituents and politicians alike have highlighted for years.
“People wanted safe, legal access to these products – especially people who are already using them,” Nischt said. “They wanted to take advantage of tax revenue that was being lost to other states and to non-taxed, alternate sources of cannabis. We’re going to be able to do that.”
H/T: www.cleveland.com
