Ohio Marijuana Sales Top $3 Billion, New State Data Shows

Ohio medical and adult-use marijuana sales have officially surpassed $3 billion, new data from the state Department of Commerce (DOC) shows.

In an update published on Tuesday, DOC’s Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) reported $3,036,756,851 in cannabis purchases as of September 13. That includes about $2.2 billion worth of medical marijuana, which was legalized in 2019, and $802 million in recreational sales, which launched in August of last year.

According to DCC, 458,292 pounds of plant material and nearly 44.4 million manufactured product units have been sold since the medical market launched, across almost 40 million receipts.

There are currently 165 licensed retailers that can serve adults and patients. And the state shows there are 459,408 registered medical cannabis patients and 41,995 caregivers.

DCC also said that the average price per gram of marijuana is currently $6.55.

The state sold about $703 million in recreational cannabis in the law’s first year of implementation, according to DCC data.

Voters approved a ballot initiative to legalize adult-use marijuana in November 2023, and lawmakers have since taken a series of steps aimed at revising the law. However, that’s been met with pushback and the legislature has so far been unable to reach consensus to meaningfully alter the law.

Last-minute disagreements between the House and Senate Republicans seemed to have derailed that plan.

After taking public testimony and adopting certain changes to Senate-passed cannabis legislation, SB 56, the House Judiciary Committee ultimately declined to advance the proposal as scheduled at a June hearing, making it so the measure couldn’t advance to a floor vote.

Changes approved at a hearing late in May rolled back some of the strict limits included in a version of the measure passed by the Senate in February, including a criminal prohibition on sharing marijuana between adults on private property.

In March, a survey of 38 municipalities by the Ohio State University’s (OSU) Moritz College of Law found that local leaders were “unequivocally opposed” to earlier proposals that would have stripped the planned funding.

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Meanwhile in Ohio, adults as of June are able to buy more than double the amount of marijuana than they were under previous limits, with state officials determining that the market can sustainably supply both medical cannabis patients and adult consumers.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) in March separately announced his desire to reallocate marijuana tax revenue to support police training, local jails and behavioral health services. He said funding police training was a top priority, even if that wasn’t included in what voters passed in 2023.

Ohio’s Senate president has also pushed back against criticism of the Senate bill, claiming the legislation does not disrespect the will of the electorate and would have little impact on products available in stores.

Separately, lawmakers are considering legislation to restrict intoxicating hemp products.

DeWine has repeatedly asked lawmakers to regulate or ban intoxicating hemp products such as delta-8 THC.