Ohio medical marijuana patients still unhappy with prices, though Michigan’s cannabis market may influence their expectations

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A brand new Ohio State College examine discovered that for the primary time a majority of sufferers are glad with Ohio’s medical marijuana program.

Costs, although, seem to nonetheless be a downside, with sufferers saying they imagine it nonetheless prices an excessive amount of for medical marijuana in Ohio.

They might be evaluating Ohio costs, which have dropped 17% previously 12 months, to Michigan’s marijuana costs – which have plummeted to new lows as a result of the state doesn’t cap the variety of licenses. Ohio has license caps.

The annual report on the Ohio Medical Marijuana Management Program was produced by OSU’s Moritz School of Legislation Drug Enforcement and Coverage Middle. It’s the heart’s fourth annual report.

About 2,500 folks responded this 12 months to the net survey, between April 11 and Could 31, which individuals accessed via the Ohio Board of Pharmacy’s month-to-month publication, via the middle’s personal electronic mail record and thru teams equivalent to Hurt Discount Ohio and the Ohio Hashish Chamber of Commerce.

Ohio’s first medical dispensaries opened in January 2019.

Within the practically 4 years that sufferers have had entry to authorized medical marijuana, Ohio governments have collected over $132 million in income: $64 million in state and native gross sales taxes, $46 million in marijuana enterprise utility and licensing charges and $22 million in affected person and caregiver charges, in response to the report.

The variety of sufferers with lively marijuana registrations grew by greater than 44% over the previous 12 months, from 107,132 sufferers in August 2021 to 154,614 sufferers in August 2022, the report discovered.

Though affected person numbers proceed to shortly improve, the variety of physicians with a certificates to suggest medical marijuana decreased between 2021 and 2022 from 651 to 641, in response to the report. The report didn’t clarify why fewer docs are certifying.

For a doctor to develop into licensed to suggest medical marijuana, they need to take a web-based course. They’ll solely suggest marijuana if a affected person has one in all 25 situations underneath state regulation.

The survey discovered 56.1% of respondents had been extraordinarily or considerably glad with the present state of the medical marijuana program.

And 35.5% of respondents reported being extraordinarily or considerably dissatisfied with this system, a big drop from the middle’s 2021 report, when 55.1% of respondents reported some degree of dissatisfaction.

Jana Hrdinova, the executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Coverage Middle, stated that the survey didn’t ask folks why they’re extra glad however it probably comes down to a few causes: Decrease costs, extra familiarity with navigating this system and coverage modifications made throughout the COVID-19 pandemic which have made it extra handy to sufferers – equivalent to permitting docs to conduct distant appointments and curbside pickup at dispensaries.

“I do know folks proceed to complain about excessive costs of marijuana – and they’re proper, they’re excessive – I believe that’s partially as a result of no insurance coverage covers any expense related with it, so I believe that’s why they contemplate it actually excessive,” Hrdinova stated. “However the costs have gone down fairly considerably.”

The report exhibits the worth of a gram of medical marijuana in Ohio price $8.99 in July, down from $10.85 a 12 months earlier and practically $17 per gram in February 2019, shortly after this system started.

Medical marijuana is cheaper in Ohio than in Pennsylvania. However it’s greater than twice as costly as medical marijuana in Michigan, the place it may be bought for $3.91 a gram – $5.08 a gram lower than it prices in Ohio.

Michigan’s costs might improve and stabilize, as some dispensaries have shuttered as a result of they can’t make a revenue on the present costs.

“There’s a glad medium. Is Ohio pricing nonetheless to excessive? I don’t know,” Hrdinova stated. “Is Michigan pricing too low? From what completely different farmers have stated, they’re approaching the purpose the place they merely can’t generate profits and must exit the trade.”

At the latest Michigan Hashish Regulatory Company assembly, regulators requested trade insiders to speak about whether or not marijuana provide has exceeded demand, and whether or not it’s time to impose a moratorium on new licenses.

Many of the enterprise homeowners on the assembly represented small cultivation firms and stated they need a moratorium, at the very least briefly, on new licenses. They stated giant, multi-state growers are driving down costs. Michigan’s marijuana regulators haven’t made any closing choices but a couple of moratorium.

However Matt Shut, government director of the Ohio Medical Hashish Trade Affiliation, stated that evaluating Michigan and Ohio is unfair. Michigan presents leisure marijuana as nicely, and its medical program is older than Ohio’s.

“Proper now, Ohio’s pricing is analogous or similar to different states with related regulatory packages,” Shut stated. “I and my affiliation look ahead to seeing what occurs when the 70-plus new dispensaries come on board. Proper now we’ve got folks touring an hour to get their medication and ready an hour in line to get their medication. New retail, we imagine, will have an effect on pricing in a optimistic approach for sufferers.”

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy on Could 16 introduced 70 new provisional dispensary licenses throughout the state, after a examine confirmed many Ohioans are touring removed from their houses to get to a dispensary. When the dispensaries open for enterprise, there will probably be over 130 dispensaries within the state. The dispensaries have till February to construct out their area.