WINTERSVILLE — Prospective customers began lining up at 6 a.m. Tuesday, around three hours before Sunnyside would open to make its first adult-use recreational marijuana sales since being issued a certificate of operation from the Division of Cannabis Control.
Sunnyside is one of 98 existing medical marijuana dispensaries so far to be issued a dual-use certificate from the DCC, the cannabis regulating arm of the Ohio Department of Commerce. Tuesday’s start of sales at approved and ready stores statewide marked the most significant event for legalization efforts since Issue 2’s passage by voters on Nov. 7 legalized the drug and provided for its regulation.
With separate lines sectioned off for existing medical patients and new recreational customers, Sunnyside’s Wintersville location began filing individuals inside at roughly 9 a.m. to scattered applause from employees and an eager shuffle from customers.
Among enthusiastic employees was Kierston Powell, senior regional marketing manager for the eastern district of Cresco Labs Inc., which operates Sunnyside and cultivates its cannabis products. All five Sunnyside dispensary locations in Ohio have received COOs, and all but the Newark location began sales Tuesday; that one will begin Wednesday.
“It’s very exciting. I feel like it’s a moment in history that we’ve all been waiting for,” said Powell, who wore a Sunnyside T-shirt and marijuana leaf earrings.
Powell noted that Ohio’s medical marijuana program permits individuals with qualifying conditions and a prescription from a licensed healthcare provider to purchase cannabis products. Recreational sale, she said, grants cannabis access to individuals whose conditions wouldn’t normally qualify through the state, helping them to treat their conditions.
As of now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the marketing of cannabis to treat any disease or condition, though it has approved one cannabis-derived drug and three synthetic cannabis-related products for use through a prescription from a licensed healthcare provider. The administration has not approved any other cannabis, cannabis-derived, or cannabidiol products currently on the market.
Sunnyside offers a variety of product types that don’t necessarily involve smoking, such as edibles, topicals, tinctures, and many forms of concentrates, Powell said.
“People don’t want to consume because they think that the only consumption way is by inhaling, and that is simply not the case. We have a portfolio of products that speak to different forms of consumption … and that also have different testing qualities.”
Customers — who must be 21 or older — walk through the front doors and are permitted into the showroom with a valid ID or medical card. From there, they follow a line that lets them see merchandise walls and buffets of product packages. The products themselves are stored in a vault and are obtained upon purchase.
Powell said she arrived at the Wintersville store around 6:30 a.m., but some individuals were already in line. Four of them had already made their purchase online at sunnyside.shop. Powell noted that store representatives were helping those in line to make their orders ahead of going inside, and she advised other prospective customers to do the same and expedite the pickup process.
The line Tuesday only continued to grow after doors opened, and Powell said that was expected. Sunnyside has been preparing for the influx of new customers since January. Long lines are anticipated for the first few weeks of recreational sales.
Among those in line were individuals from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York. The first two states have medical programs, though recreational marijuana remains illegal. It is also federally illegal to carry cannabis across state lines.
Individuals in line, who declined to be identified, commented on how recreational sales in Ohio have been long-anticipated, and some noted that adult use is bound to come next in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, based on Ohio’s precedent. Individuals added they’re interested in seeing how recreational sales affect the rate of individuals driving while intoxicated.
Present for Sunnyside’s opening was Wintersville Mayor Mike Petrella, who said Sunnyside’s certificate is “great news for the village,” citing an expected increase in traffic and its ripple effect on surrounding businesses. Thirty-six percent of excise tax revenue will return to the village, he said, and that will be compounded with the 7.25-percent Jefferson County sales tax already in place.
“We know there could be some issues with potential people driving under the influence, but our police department is prepared for that as well,” Petrella said.
Two officers were present with Petrella Tuesday morning, and the Wintersville Police Department planned to have an officer stationed at the store until 10 p.m.
Petrella is the former owner of the Wintersville medical marijuana dispensary Ohio Valley Natural Relief LLC, which was purchased by Greenlight Dispensary more than a month ago. Based in St. Louis, Greenlight operates 34 dispensaries — medical and dual-use, depending on the market — in seven states.
Casey Efting, Greenlight’s director of retail operations, said ONVR is Greenlight’s first foray into the Ohio cannabis market, where the company hopes to begin establishing more retail operations, informed by its experience in other states.
“We understand the transition from the medical market to the adult-use or recreational market. … “We’re excited to go through this process again. We went through this (transition) in Missouri last February. It’s great to have safe access for everyone over the age of 21 that’s consuming these products.”
Carrying multiple product brands, the store plans to prioritize customer experience, Efting said. It will continue to serve medical patients while seeking to accommodate new recreational customers. The store itself is small, Efting said, but plans are in place to implement Greenlight’s “look and feel” through interior renovations and to hopefully open up the space for a better flow.
OVNR’s COO application was submitted while the store’s purchase was progressing, Efting said. The store is awaiting its state inspection, after which it will have a more solid date for the beginning of its recreational sales.
Celebrating the impending start of recreational sales Monday was the Marijuana Policy Project, a cannabis policy reform organization that has been involved in 14 successful cannabis legalization campaigns across the U.S. Founded in 1995, the MPP has been involved in Ohio cannabis reform efforts since 2015 and financially contributed to the Issue 2 campaign.
The MPP’s Executive Director Matthew Schweich said in a release: “Today we celebrate as Ohioans’ support for legalization culminates in the launch of a regulated adult-use cannabis market. This milestone will not only generate substantial economic benefits for the state but will increase personal freedom and end the injustice of cannabis prohibition.”
