Ohio
Slow burn — Ohio recreational marijuana dispensaries on way to sales
COLUMBUS, Ohio — More than 100 dispensaries in Ohio are on their way to selling recreational marijuana. This comes after sales were anticipated to start in June.
The Division of Cannabis Control has given provisional licenses to 110 dispensaries so they can sell both medically and recreationally once they receive final approval.
Of the 110, Northeast Ohio has 36. Southwest Ohio has 29, and Central Ohio has 18. Franklin County has the most with 12, Cuyahoga with 11 and Hamilton with nine.
Click here to learn which facilities have a provisional license.
License applications must be approved or denied by Sept. 7, but the state and policymakers have continued to say that applications could be granted and recreational sales could happen by mid-June.
The passage of Issue 2 allowed adults 21 years of age and older to smoke, vape and ingest weed. Individual Ohioans are able to grow up to six plants with up to 12 per household. Click here to learn more about what the law entails.
High hopes for marijuana to hit store shelves sooner this summer
High hopes for marijuana to hit store shelves sooner this summer
Ohio Cannabis Coalition’s Tom Haren is staying positive despite the delayed start date.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Haren said. “There is a lot of work that needed to get done.”
Consumers haven’t been able to buy weed legally because there is a process that takes place between getting a provisional license and getting a license with a certificate of operation.
The state has a list of requirements that shops need to meet, such as keeping visitor logs, having curbside and drive-through pickup and utilizing surveillance systems. Dispensaries will also have to demonstrate they can keep inventory aside to make sure medical patients continue having preferred access. Sellers will also have to do a test sale to a medical patient and a recreational consumer, among dozens of other tasks and evaluations.
“We’ve been going on a hiring blitz, of course, making sure that we’re staffed up,” Brandon Nemec with Verilife said.
But Gov. Mike DeWine wants more regulations.
“We have a problem of walking down the street with your five-year-old and there is marijuana smoke,” DeWine said in late June.
He has been asking for lawmakers to deal with his safety concerns for months.
The Senate has passed and proposed various changes to the law — like a restriction or ban on public smoking. However, it would limit home grow, reduce THC levels and ban the vast majority of vapes — among dozens of other restrictions and changes to what the voters chose.
House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) has been blocking it, and dispensaries support him.
“Honoring the will of the voters is very important,” Stephens said in late June. “That part has been done — this was passed in November and it’s still the law of the land.”
The lawmakers in both chambers allegedly agree that they want to put more stringent guidelines on advertising, but they can’t agree on the vehicle. The House wants a clean version of a bill — meaning they don’t want the Senate to “go against the will of the people,” which is what House leaders say the other chamber is doing.
The Senate leaders have argued that the citizens didn’t actually know what they were voting for, and they don’t actually want or need to be able to grow six plants as an individual or up to 12 plants per household.
In their most recent move, the Senate proposed S.B. 278, a bill that would ban all public smoking or vaping, but they didn’t reduce the home grow amount this time. House leaders, specifically marijuana enthusiast state Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord), said a public ban would not be happening under his watch.
The House and the Senate both proposed ideas, and their leaders have been arguing about whose policy is better for the state, which in turn has kept marijuana off the shelves despite being passed in Nov. and going into effect in Dec. 2023.
Republican squabbling keeps marijuana off shelves months after legalization
Republican squabbling keeps marijuana off shelves months after legalization
Even though sales didn’t happen as hoped in June, Haren said Cannabis Control is still ahead of schedule. Technically, they have until Sept. to issue the first batch of licenses.
“We’re very encouraged that we are a matter of weeks away from Ohioans being able to purchase legal, regulated, taxed, tested, adult-use marijuana products right here in the Buckeye State,” Haren added.
There will likely be no changes to marijuana policy until the end of the year since the chambers are in summer recess until after the Nov. election.
Here is a list of provisionally licensed facilities in Northeast Ohio:
Cuyahoga Co.
- Amplify Bedford: 22803 Rockside Rd, Bedford
- Amplify CH: 1782 Coventry Rd, Cleveland Heights
- Cannavitz Ventures LLC: 13501 Lakewood Heights Blvd, Cleveland
- Green Power OH: 13429 Lakewood Heights Blvd, Cleveland
- Good Day Dispensary, LLC: 34480 Vine Street, Lake
- GTI Ohio, LLC: 11818 Madison Ave, Lakewood
- GTI Ohio, LLC: 1222 Prospect Ave E, Cleveland
- GTI Ohio, LLC: 18607 Detroit Ave, Lakewood
- Nectar Markets of Ohio, LLC: 1100 Saint Clair Ave, Euclid
- OPC Retail II, LLC: 1978 W 3rd St, Cleveland
- Twice The Wellness, LLC: 27900 Chagrin Boulevard, Woodmere
Summit
- Greenleaf Apothecaries: 46 South Summit St., Akron
- FRX Health of Cuyahoga Falls: 1682 State Rd., Cuyahoga Falls
- 127 OH: 737 East North St., Akron
- Culture Retail Partners of Ohio, Inc.: 1568 E Archwood Ave., Akron
- Curaleaf Cuyahoga Falls: 1220 Buchholzer Blvd Ste. C, Cuyahoga Falls
Lorain
- CREAM Apothecaries Ohio LLC: 914 Cleveland St., Elyria
- GTI Ohio: 1920 Cooper Foster Park Rd. W, Lorain
- NMG OH 1: 709 Sugar Ln., Elyria
- Citizen Real Estate: 5152 Grove Ave., Lorain
Stark
- Citizen Real Estate, LLC: 401 Cherry Ave. NE, Canton
- Mother Know’s Best, LLC: 3224 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton
- The Green Goat Dispensary, LLC: 4016 Greentree Ave. SW, Canton
Erie, Sandusky-area
- Ohio Patient Access, LLC: 6019 Milan Rd., Sandusky
- OPC Retail, LLC: 2344 University Dr. E, Huron
- The Forst Sandusky, LLC: 5020 Milan Rd., Sandusky
Lake
- 127 OH, LLC: 382 Blackbrook Rd., Painesville
- INSA Ohio, LLC: 27751 Chardon Rd., Willoughby Hills
Portage
- Next-Level Operators, LLC: 331 E. Main St., Kent
- Simple AG Ohio, LLC: 554 N. Chestnut St., Ravenna
Trumbull
- B Cubed Operations Ohio, LLC: 437 E Liberty St., Hubbard
- Green Leaf Medical of Ohio II, LLC: 2932 Youngstown Rd. SE, Warren
Medina
- GreenBud, LLC: 5000 Park Ave. W, Seville
Ashtabula
- Italian Herbs LLC: 2712 West Prospect Rd., Ashtabula
Mahoning
- Quest Wellness Ohio II, LLC: 4323 Market St., Youngstown
Tuscarawas
- Ratio Cannabis LLC: 1145 W. High Ave., New Philadelphia
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Part of Glenwood Avenue is closed due to a water main break in Youngstown.
Saturday afternoon, water could be seen flowing down Glenwood Avenue near Ravenwood Avenue.
The road is closed between Ravenwood Avenue and Clearmount Drive while crews repair the break.
Dominic O’Brien contributed to this report.
The U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 was a monumental, year-long celebration marking the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Coming in the aftermath of the turbulent 1960s, the political disillusionment of the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974, and the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese and the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the Bicentennial served as a crucial moment of national healing.
The festivities culminated on the Fourth of July 1976, with spectacular events staged across the country. The most enduring legacy of the celebration in Columbus is Bicentennial Park, located in the Downtown riverfront area along the Scioto River.
Dedicated on July 4, 1976, this 4.7-acre green space was built to permanently commemorate the nation’s 200th birthday. The park’s initial centerpiece was a massive fountain system featuring four circular pools that could shoot water 60 feet into the air.
From May 22 to June 2, 1975, Columbus served as the 11th official stop for the American Freedom Train. This massive, steam-powered rolling museum carried more than 500 priceless historical artifacts – including copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution – across all 48 contiguous states.
The train was displayed at the Defense Construction Supply Center [DCSC] in Whitehall and drew massive crowds of local families. Columbus held a special distinction during the tour: it was one of only three cities nationwide where the “Splendid Spirit” car was included with the train.
Warren Motts, the founding director of Motts Military Museum in Groveport, traveled with the train for its entire 25,000-mile journey, capturing the official photos that documented this historic event.
Beyond these massive metropolitan events, the true spirit of the Bicentennial thrived at the grassroots level. The American Revolution Bicentennial Administration (ARBA) encouraged local communities to form their own committees, leading to thousands of unique municipal projects.
Towns across the nation hosted local parades, commissioned historical murals, dedicated new parks, and sealed time capsules intended for the tricentennial in 2076.
It also triggered a resurgence of interest in local history and genealogy, as everyday citizens sought to trace their own roots back to the nation’s founding eras.
The civic energy and patriotism generated by the 1976 celebrations also helped pave the way for other major local traditions. Just a few years later, in 1981, Columbus launched its annual Red, White & Boom! celebration, which grew into the largest Independence Day fireworks display in the Midwest—a tradition deeply rooted in the community pride revived during the Bicentennial era.
Get involved in America 250 at your library this year! Visit columbulibrary.org for a full list of America 250 events.
Angela O’Neal is Local History & Genealogy Manager with the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
NORTHEAST OHIO (WOIO) – Thousands are without power Friday after severe weather sweeps across Northeast Ohio counties, creating weather-related damage.
FirstEnergy reports more than 71,000 in Northeast Ohio are without power Friday night.
More than 22,000 are without power in Cuyahoga County.
The utility company reports that more than 700 are without power in Erie County.
Lake County reports over 1,000 outages, and Portage has over 4,000 outages.
Trumbull County is experiencing over 1,000, and Ashtabula reports over 3,000.
Lorain County is experiencing more than 3,000 reported outages, and Geauga County has more than 7,000.
Medina County reported more than 1,000.
Chardon fire crews field wave of storm calls
The Chardon Fire Department shared the calls it responded to concerning storm damage Friday evening.
Fire crews said they responded to a tree in a house at 127 Burlington Oval.
The department said a tree fell on a gas line, causing a gas leak at 408 Charleston Avenue.
Wires were reported down on South Claridon Road, closing State Route 44 near South Street.
Wires were reported down on a house near Irma and South Hambden.
Fire crews said a tree was reported down on a home at 306 North Hambden.
The department also said alarms went off at UH Geauga Hospital.
Downed wires also closed Auburn and Twing roads.
The department said power was out on the south side of Chardon City.
Another tree was reported to have fallen into a house at 109 Burlington Oval, but no injuries were reported.
Fire crews said an incident involving a tree in a house and electric lines was reported at 11396 Aquilla Road, but no injuries were reported.
Fallen tree takes out power line in Independence
The city of Independence said a downed tree took out a live power line on lower Stone Road.
The city asked the public to avoid the area because of the danger posed by live wires.
The city said FirstEnergy had been notified and both police and firefighters were on scene.
Downed wires prompt closures across Hambden
The Hambden Fire Department said Friday night it was dealing with multiple storm-related incidents.
Crews said Claridon Troy Road was closed between Route 608 and Chardon Windsor Road because of downed poles and wires.
Kenny Drive was closed south of Leaders Mobile Home Park because of downed wires across the road, according to fire crews.
Multiple wires were reported down on Route 6 near Cutts and Grant Street along the north side of the road.
The department said the public should use caution in areas with downed wires and poles and should not attempt to move any of the wires.
Anyone with an electrical emergency or who encounters downed wires is asked to call 9-1-1.
Hambden Fire said people should not call 9-1-1 to report an outage.
The department said FirstEnergy is aware of these issues and is working to fix them.
Check FirstEnergy’s, AEP’s, and Cleveland Public Power’s websites for the latest outage numbers.
These outages come after severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for multiple Northeast Ohio counties this evening and were extended until 10:45 p.m.
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