COLUMBUS, Ohio — Anyone in the state aspiring to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes can begin applying for Ohio licenses in June for review in July.

 

The Ohio Department of Commerce (ODC) is overseeing selection of 24 qualified cultivators to start, one of the numerous steps involved in launching a medical marijuana program set in motion by a new state law enacted last year.

 

The law allows people with 21 medical conditions (including

cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, HIV/AIDS and epilepsy) to purchase and use marijuana after getting a doctor’s recommendation. The law doesn’t allow smoking.

 

Once awarded, license holders will have nine months to meet all the requirements of the program. The ODC plans to release application forms and instructions in the next week. Department officials will then host a webinar to go over the process and answer any questions before growers begin applying for licenses in June.

 

Gov. John Kasich signed Ohio’s medical marijuana law in June 2016. Most of the details of the program were left to three state regulatory agencies to decide before September 2017. State officials are still finalizing the application process and rules for marijuana product manufacturers, testing labs and dispensaries.

 

The state will issue two types of cultivator licenses: 12 “Level I” licenses for up to 25,000 square feet of growing space and 12 “Level II” licenses for up to 3,000 square feet. The space was increased because of concerns the number of growers and allowed square footage were too small to serve Ohio’s patient population.

 

Department officials can decide in September 2018 whether to issue additional licenses or grant additional grow space to existing license-holders.

 

The license fees and financial requirements are among the highest of the country’s 28 medical marijuana programs: a $20,000 nonrefundable application fee and $180,000 license fee for a Level I license and a $2,000 application fee and $18,000 license fee for Level II.

 

There are other restrictions as well. For instance, a person or company cannot own or invest in more than one cultivator. Applicants must show local support for the plan and no bans or moratoriums can be in place. In addition, one must demonstrate the facility will be secured by fencing, 24-hour surveillance and security alarms.

 

Cultivators must maintain an inventory of at least 20 pounds of medical marijuana for large-scale growers and 10 pounds for small-scale producers.

 

Applications will be screened first to determine whether they are complete. A separate  panel of reviewers will score these based on criteria set by the rules. The applications reviewed in this stage won’t include identifiable information.

 

State regulators in Ohio acknowledge proposed licensing fees for medical marijuana businesses could initially exceed the state’s costs of operating the program.

 

Missy Craddock of the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program told an advisory panel the program has requested roughly $2.5 million a year for operational costs in each of the next two years. She said the cost doesn’t include a number of unknown costs, such as setting up the program’s licensing, product track and payment systems and establishing a required toll-free hotline.

 

“Some guesswork is involved in setting up a new program, but having surplus revenue is better than being underfunded,” Craddock said. “It’s much easier to reduce fees down the line in the future than it is to increase them.

 

“It’s important for us to make sure that we’re attracting industry that is capitalized enough, to make sure that we have people who are serious enough.” For further information, go online to www.com.ohio.gov