CLEVELAND — It’s been just more than a week since recreational use cannabis sales began in the Buckeye State, and employees at Amplify Dispensaries said it’s been a successful week.
They have seen about twice as many customers come into the store each day.
This new form of revenue is something that Cleveland Heights Mayor, Kahlil Seren, said will bring in a lot of opportunities for improvement to the city.
A state and local sales tax is placed on all recreational marijuana sales as well as a 10% excise tax. The excise tax revenue will go toward a Social Equity and Jobs Program, mental health and addiction services, local governments, and the administrative costs of the Ohio Department of Taxation and the Division of Cannabis Control.
Of the 10% excise tax, 36% will go directly to the host communities, and the mayor said there are no restrictions on how municipalities can spend these dollars.
“When we get this tax revenue in from this dispensary or any others that open up, we will take those revenues and we will steer them towards the areas of greatest need,” Seren explained.
Aside from the tax benefits, AJ Caraballo, the retail director Amplify Dispensaries, which has a location in the Coventry neighborhood of Cleveland Heights explained that dispensaries will bring increased foot traffic to the area in which they are located.
“We're driving foot traffic, which is huge for not only our individual location but for all of those ancillary business around us, restaurants on the street, we are hoping they see an increase in traffic as well,” Caraballo said. ”Folks do have to come to the dispensary to pick up cannabis, unlike other retail purchases, where they might have it shipped to their house. We drive the foot traffic, which is nice for our neighbors.”
Caraballo added that a portion of their first week of sales are going toward the Last Prisoner Project to help with expungement of records related to cannabis
“We are very thankful and fortunate that this non-medical market is here,” Caraballo said “However, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge that there are folks still in prison for doing the same thing we are celebrating having the opportunity to do last week, which is to sell cannabis.”
The mayor said that the city has had no cannabis related safety issues over the last week.
“The most important responses that I have seen is a response from my chief of police,” Seren said, “who has let me know that we have seen no issues as a result of the opening adult use cannabis and providing that product on Coventry, in Coventry Village."