Ohio recreational marijuana sales start: What Columbus customers saw (2024)

Recreational marijuana sales are now in full swing in Ohio.

After months of regulatory maneuvering and permit-seeking, 98 marijuana dispensaries received licenses to sell recreational marijuana in Ohio starting Tuesday. While Ohio has had medical marijuana for years, Tuesday marks the first day Ohio residents over 21 can legally purchase the plant recreationally.

While it's up to individual stores if they're open for business, many dispensaries across the state welcomed customers on recreational marijuana's first day.

Here's a sampling of what that looked like:

Ohio's first customer buys in Cincinnati

A Madisonville resident made the first recreational marijuana purchase at a Greater Cincinnati dispensary Tuesday morning, the first day of legal sales in Ohio.

Jeff Riede was first in line at Sunnyside dispensary, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The 55-year-old said he’d been waiting in his car in the parking lot since about 6:30 p.m. Monday for the dispensary to open at 7 a.m. He planned to buy edibles and some flower.

“Yeah, I slept in my car,” Riede told reporters. “This is pretty epic to me. I wanted to be the first one here.”

Related article: 'I slept in my car': Cincinnati man camps out overnight for first recreational weed sale

Bloom Medicinals starts selling in Columbus

Bloom Medicinals, 1361 Georgesville Road, opened its door Tuesday around 8 a.m. to a line of about 20 people eager to be some of the first people in Columbus to buy marijuana over the counter without a prescription.

Employees at what began as a medicinal dispensary provided a separate line for their regular customers who buy marijuana for medicinal.

As customers left the store, a handful of them raised their fists in celebration, eliciting cheers from the other customers waiting in line.

Inside the dispensary, customers stood in cordoned-off lines, waiting to approach Bloom’s security station to verify they’re legally allowed to buy marijuana.

In the brightly lit storeroom, customers could use touch screen tablets or chat with employees to browse marijuana products like Black Sheep’s “8 Inch Bagel” marijuana flowers and Camino’s “Freshly Squeezed Oranges” edibles.

While dispensaries can’t play music outside their shops, pop hits like Doja Cat’s “Say So” filtered through Bloom’s speakers in their showroom.

Most marijuana flower products cost around $40 for 2.83 grams or around a tenth of an ounce.Edibles appear less expensive, with prices ranging from $17 to $100, depending on the size of the containers.

Gavin McKenney, Bloom Medicinals' general manager, said customers used to buying marijuana in Michigan may have to get used to Ohio's higher prices for now.

"Hopefully in the next few months stuff will go down. With sales tax as of now and product availability, you see what happens," he said.

Jarris Barfield, 66, waited in Bloom Medicinals’ recreational marijuana line early Tuesday morning. He was recently diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, and he said he may only have six months to live.

His marijuana purchase, he said, was meant to help bring him some happiness during the time he has left.

“Life has its ups and downs," Barfield said. "But I’m going to stay on the better side of life and stay happy. And if this is what it takes to get me there, I’ll do it.”

At one Columbus dispensary, line shorter than expected

At Nar Reserve, recreational sales began in force at 10 a.m. after a two-hour priority period for medical customers that began at 8 a.m. While the morning started slow, dozens of customers came and went from Long Street and Grant Avenue dispensary.

Around 10 a.m., there was a short line inside the dispensary. Linda McAlexander, 70, said she has asthma and was most excited to purchase edibles because of her condition. She said she felt like Ohio was finally getting with the times.

"Ohio is so conservative, it's ridiculous," McAlexander said.

David McAlexander, 68, was surprised to see the line was so short.

"No line, can you believe that?" David McAlexander said. "I thought there'd be a big line."

Ali Bazzi, managing partner of Nar Reserve, said while things were starting slow, the store was seeing some traction as word got out of recreational sales starting Tuesday. He said he expects traffic to the dispensary to build over several weeks.

"Once word gets out, as the lines start going, we think it's going to keep getting busier," Bazzi said.

Nar Reserve brought extra staff on hand Tuesday and ensured it had enough product to meet demand.

"It's kind of better it started off slow, just so we can ramp up," Bazzi said. "You don't want the employees walking in with 200 people in line."

Michael Hawkins, 46, said he was excited to see if the product "was worth the wait" of getting dispensaries online. He bought some to sample, saying he paid $40 for 2.8 grams of weed, much higher than he would've seen paying on the black market.

"You don't have to buy from not shady characters no more," Hawkins said. "I know I'm paying for what I'm getting."

Truelieve dispensary in Westerville sees lines around the building

The line at Truelieve in Westerville wrapped around the building, and its parking lot was full late Tuesday morning as customers came to purchase marijuana on their lunch breaks.

"It's just exciting seeing people from literally every walk of life, every different background. People are extremely happy and excited. Everyone's in a really good mood," Kyle Schrader, age not known, said while waiting to enter the store.

Employees sifted through the 30-person line, checking customers in, answering questions and handing out water bottles while the summer sun beat down on the dispensary.

Katie Masko, 22, said while waiting in line that marijuana dulls her nausea, allowing her to eat. It also helps with anxiety, she said.

"It's not fun to be nauseous," Masko said.

Nick Rassler, Trulieve's director of state operations, said the store increased its inventory and staffing levels in anticipation of Tuesday's avalanche of recreational demand. Rassler said the store was consistently busy throughout the morning, with 20 to 30 people circling the building at any given time.

To keep things moving quickly, he recommended customers order online before coming in. Medicinal marijuana patients don't have to worry about the lines; they get to jump to the front, he said.

"(Medicinal patients have) taken care of us, and we intend to continue to take care of them. We've done that as a company in every state that we have operated as both medical and recreational," he said.

Columbus medicinal marijuana patrons welcome the change

Some medical marijuana patients have expressed apprehension about the launch of recreational, but Robert Coalter, a Tuesday morning customer at Amplify on Hamilton Road, said he’s not too bothered – and he doesn’t expect the crowds to last.

“Everybody's really nice because they're coping with something somehow, and there's an answer inside,” he said.

Recreational launch a 'long time coming,' customers say

The Botanist, part of a chain of dispensaries with a location at 115 Vine St. in Columbus, opened its doors to non-medical patients at 9 a.m. Gyen Musgrave, director of retail operations, said he expected a 100-to-150% increase in traffic on Tuesday. His staff has been preparing for this day since March.

"That's forever been a difficult hurdle for the medical cannabis program, and hopefully, those restrictions lessen as we approach the adult-use market," he said. "We're awfully busy to where it's hard to appreciate the moment, but it's extremely exciting."

Justin Davis, 28, one of the first recreational marijuana buyers at The Botanist, said: "This is more convenient, and it just lets us know that Ohioans are not so conservative like we think."

Other customers said they appreciate the safety and convenience.

"It feels good to know you can get it, and it's actually safe, you know," said Cameron Gregory, 26. "I ran here right after work."

Related recreational marijuana article: As recreational weed sales begin, here's where you can buy in Columbus

Others viewed Tuesday as something that should have happened a long time ago.

"It feels like I'm being treated as an adult, as opposed to a criminal," Troy Stanley, 50, said while waiting in line at The Botanist. "I've been persecuted and prosecuted for the last 40 years over something that should have been made legal a long time ago," Sean Smith, 59, said. "So I'm glad to not have to look over my shoulder."

NHart@dispatch.com

@NathanRHart