Complete Story
03/16/2017
State won’t allow broadcast ads for medical marijuana
Editor's Note: To see the proposed advertising rules, go here. The rules start on page 57.
Sometime next year, Ohioans will be able to visit any of 60 medical marijuana shops open up to 14 hours a day.
They will be able to buy plant material to vaporize and inhale, plus marijuana-infused oils, tinctures, edibles and patches.
There are still some no-nos. Home delivery of pot will not be permitted, smoking and home-growing are not allowed, and your favorite local marijuana shop won't be allowed to sell you a T-shirt.
But the Buckeye State's foray into marijuana for medical purposes is well underway six months after the law took effect.
Revised rules for marijuana dispensaries were released Thursday by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, including boosting the number of marijuana dispensaries to 60 from 40 as previously set. The number could even go higher because rules include a provision that further licenses to sell marijuana may be added based on "the state population, patient population, and geographic location." The number still remains far below the 1,150 dispensaries that would have been permitted by a statewide marijuana ballot issue Ohio voters defeated in 2015.
The pharmacy board, after receiving public comment, decided that home delivery of marijuana will not be allowed because of the expanded access offered by additional dispensaries.
The revisions also reduce the biennial fee for dispensaries to $70,000 from $80,000 every two years, expand permitted operating hours to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily (closing time previously was 7 p.m.), and limit coupons and discounts to use by indigent and veteran patients.
Another rule was tweaked to prohibit dispensaries from advertising on broadcast media. They also are blocked from advertising their products on clothing or handheld signs and cannot use marijuana leaves in ads.
