Recreational Cannabis Sales in Ohio Reaches $242 Million, According to Report

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According to the historical sales data report released from Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) in the Ohio Department of Commerce, as of December 28, 2024, recreational cannabis sales totaled $242,167,020, and medical sales totaled $2,054,345,087, resulting in a total of $2,296,801,457 in cannabis sales in the state (1). Comparatively, for the first week recreational cannabis sales began, the total product sales was $11,530,708. By October 2024, sales had reached more than $109,463,957. As noted in the report, sales of medical cannabis began in the state on January 14, 2019, and non-medical sales began August 6, 2024. In April 2019, the first date listed in the report, medical cannabis sales totaled $5.2 million.

The report also lists other weekly data, including pounds of plant materials, total manufactured product, and average prices. For the week of December 22, 2024, the total pounds of plant material was 32,487 for recreational cannabis and 299,000 for medical, for a total of 331,483 pounds. Units of manufactured product was 4,007,128 for recreational cannabis, and 27,652,316 for medical cannabis, resulting in a total of 31,659,500 units. The plant sales average price per 1/10oz was $19.84, the price of plant sales average per gram was $7.01, and the manufactured sales average was $27.91.

Additionally, as of January 7, 2025, there are 126 licensed dispensaries in the state, 37 licensed cultivators, 46 certified operators, and nine total testing laboratories (seven dual-use and two medical only) (2).

As stated on its website, the DCC is responsible for licenses and regulation of cannabis cultivators, processors, testing laboratories, and dispensaries, as well as oversight of the Medical Marijuana Patient and Caregiver Registry (2). Approving which conditions qualify for a medical cannabis recommendation, as well as certifying physicians to make those recommendations, is the responsibility of the State Medical Board.

In November 2023, Ohio voters passed Issue 2, with a 57% majority, making the possession and cultivation of cannabis for recreational purposes legal in the state starting in December 2023 (3). For several months, however, there were no dispensaries in the state licensed to sell non-medical cannabis products. Additionally, in December 2023, the state Senate had approved HB 86 with a bipartisan vote, which proposed several changes to the new law, including reducing the number of plants allowed for home cultivation of plants, increasing the tax for transactions, and an automatic expungement of certain cannabis-related convictions. Governor Mike DeWine had also voiced concerns for the possible proliferation of unsafe products in an unregulated market.

In a study published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology in September 2024, researchers from Ohio State University’s College of Medicine found that Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposures reported to US poison control centers rose 79% from 2021 to 2022 (4). Most of the calls came from areas in the US where cannabis was not legalized.

References

1. Division of Cannabis Control. Historical Sales Data. https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/com.ohio.gov/DCC/DCC_Historical_Sales_Data.pdf(accessed Jan 8, 2025).
2. Ohio Department of Commerce. DCC Update. https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/cannabis-control/licensee-resources/what-we-do/dcc-update (accessed Jan 8, 2025).
3. McEvoy, E. Legal Recreational Cannabis in Ohio Becomes Entangled. https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/legal-recreational-cannabis-in-ohio-becomes-entangled(accessed Jan 8, 2025).
4. Colli, M. States Without Legalized Cannabis Have Higher Rate of Poison Control Calls for Delta-8 THC Products, Says Recent Study.https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/states-without-legalized-cannabis-have-higher-rate-of-poison-control-calls-for-delta-8-thc-products-says-recent-study (accessed Jan 8, 2025).