COLUMBUS, Ohio — Recreational marijuana is here. 

What You Need To Know

  • Recreational use marijuana sales begin Tuesday

  • The dispensaries that are legally allowed to sell recreational use marijuana must be issued dual-use certificates of operation

  • To find which dispensaries legally sell recreational use marijuana, visit here

The Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) will issue the first round of dual-use operation certificates to 98 locations across the state to sell both medical and recreational use marijuana. 

On Nov. 7 2023, Ohio voters passed Issue 2, making recreational marijuana legal for people 21 years old and older. The law went into effect on Dec. 7 2023 and then the Division of Cannabis Control had nine months to curate rules and regulations. Fast forward to Aug. 2024, recreational marijuana will be sold in dispensaries with dual-use certificates across the state. 

The Division of Cannabis Control shares with Spectrum News 1 that in order to receive a certificate of operation, dispensaries must show they are able to properly process adult use and medical sales because of the tax consideration. Also, licensees must validate that their security systems meet legal requirements and agree they will ensure as much as possible inventory remains available for medical patients.

Sunnyside Dispensaries will be one of the first dispensaries in Ohio to legally sell recreational marijuana. They have five locations across the state opening tomorrow, and their spokesperson tells me they are ready. 

“People are very, very excited about this day. People are asking how early they can come and if they can camp out in the parking lot to be first in line. So our staff is ready. We’ve been preparing for this for a long time. You can’t see the store in front of me right now, but there are ropes, stanchions and a whole showroom waiting to welcome people,” said Sunnyside Dispensaries spokesperson, Jason Erkes. 

Once a dual-use certificate is issued, the Division of Cannabis will publish that information on its website to make sure that the information is made available to the public. The website will be updated every time a certificate is issued.