Ohio issues draft rules for adult-use marijuana applications

Ohio regulators have issued proposed rules for medical marijuana businesses and provisional license holders to convert to dual-use licenses to serve both the medical and adult-use markets.

The draft rules released by the state’s Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) primarily focus on the application process, qualifications and other administrative protocols to meet a Sept. 7 deadline to issue adult-use provisional licenses, according to Youngstown TV station WKBN.

In January, the DCC released rules outlining more specific requirements such as licensing fees and time elements.

The application to convert to a dual-use license will be “simple” and take “minimal time” to complete, according to the DCC’s nine-page proposal.

Unlike nearly every other recreational market, Ohio will not charge an application fee.

The rules also clarify qualifications and disqualifications related to various criminal offenses.

Applicants with a first-degree misdemeanor via conviction or guilty plea within five years of filing an application will be denied a license.

Those with first-degree misdemeanors beyond five years will not be automatically disqualified, including those related to:

• Marijuana possession.
• Marijuana trafficking.
• Illegal cannabis cultivation.
• lllegal use or possession of drug or cannabis paraphernalia, or other marijuana-related crimes.

Public comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. ET Feb. 27.

Business applications will be available by June 7.

Ohio voters in November overwhelmingly approved legalizing the cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana.