Ohio legalized adult-use cannabis via Issue 2 on November 7, 2023. The law took effect on December 7, 2023, allowing adults 21+ to possess, cultivate, and prepare for regulated sales. The Division of Cannabis Control (DCC), within the Ohio Department of Commerce, regulates licensing and enforcement for all licensed participants in the market.
1. Division of Cannabis Control (DCC)
The DCC oversees licensing, rulemaking, inspections, testing protocols, security standards, and penalties for violations. It also regulates adult-use operators—cultivators, processors, dispensaries, and testing labs—and ensures fair market participation.
2. Licensing Tiers and Limits
Ohio has several operator categories under Chapter 3780 of the Revised Code:
- Level I & II cultivators: Authorized to cultivate, distribute to other operators, and acquire plant materials. Growth area limited by license specifics.
- Level III cultivators: Licensed with a social equity preference; can cultivate, distribute, and obtain genetic material, but limited to one license per person.
- Processors: Allowed to receive cannabis from cultivators, process it into permitted forms (e.g., edibles, extracts), and sell to operators.
- Dispensaries: May obtain inventory from cultivators, processors, or other dispensaries. Authorized to sell to consumers aged 21+ and provide delivery where allowed.
- Testing labs: Licensed to acquire product exclusively for testing and must follow technical standards.
3. License Application & Eligibility
Applicants must pass criminal record checks—certain offenses disqualify applicants unless more than five years have passed. Owners and key employees must not overlap between operator and testing lab entities to prevent conflicts of interest. Facilities must maintain a 500-foot buffer from prohibited sites, unless preexisting.
Initial license eligibility was linked to preexisting medical licenses, with dual licensing now open for medical dispensaries to sell recreational products. The DCC also provides additional licenses bi-annually based on market demand.
4. Packaging, Labeling, and Record-Keeping
All cannabis products must be packaged in child-proof, tamper-evident, light-resistant containers, meeting defined labeling and testing requirements. Dispensaries must operate real-time, web-based inventory systems, track batch info, conduct weekly audits, and report thefts or inventory discrepancies promptly.
5. Operations and Compliance
Retail dispensaries must maintain written policies for security, operate only onsite unless authorized for delivery, and be staffed by trained adult-use dispensers. Dispensary hours are regulated (7 a.m.–9 p.m. ET for medical, with similar guidance expected for recreational).
6. Taxes and Social Equity
A 10% adult-use excise tax is added to cannabis retail sales (in addition to state sales tax). Funds are allocated to regulatory costs, addiction services, communities hosting dispensaries, and social equity/job-support programs.
7. Consumer Limits
Adults may possess up to 2.5 oz of cannabis and 15 g of concentrate; home cultivation is limited to six plants per person or 12 per household. Retailers must enforce these limits at point of sale and verify age with valid ID.
8. Enforcement & Penalties
Violations may lead to license suspension, fines, or revocation. Consumers exceeding possession limits face minor misdemeanors; underage transactions and falsified IDs carry stricter penalties.