COLUMBUS, Ohio — This story was originally published by Ohio Capital Journal.
Ohio recreational marijuana sales surpassed $242 million as 2024 came to a close.
The state’s total recreational marijuana sales were $242,167,020 as of Dec. 28, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control.
There have been 4,007,128 units of manufactured products that have been sold and 32,487 pounds of plant material, according to the department.
Recreational sales began in August, about nine months after Ohioans voted to legalize recreational marijuana.
There are 124 dual-use marijuana dispensaries in Ohio, meaning they can sell medical and non-medical marijuana, according to the division.
Ohio lawmakers in the House and the Senate tried to make changes to the marijuana law before it took effect, but the chambers weren’t able to see eye-to-eye.
The Senate tried to limit home grow, lower THC levels, up the tax rate, change how revenue is collected and ban the vast majority of vapes.
A House bill would have also changed the tax revenue and clarified some of the marijuana law’s language, such as explaining home grow must take place at a residential address. Ohio’s voter-passed law allows home grow with six plants per person with 12 plants per residence.
More than 120 Ohio municipalities and townships have moratoriums in place banning the sale of adult-use cannabis as of Dec. 19, according to Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law.
As the 136th General Assembly begins this week, lawmakers are expected to introduce legislation concerning marijuana and hemp.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has been imploring lawmakers to ban or regulate delta-8 THC products, which are made from hemp and have 0.3% THC or less. There is currently no state age restriction when it comes to buying delta-8 products.
A Senate bill in the previous General Assembly would have banned the sale of intoxicating hemp products in Ohio, but it didn’t make it over the finish line.
Incoming Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman supported the changes the Senate tried to make to the state’s marijuana law when he was Senate President, which could make it easier to advance potential marijuana law overhauls in the new General Assembly.
Read more from the Ohio Capital Journal HERE.
