The Ohio Board of Pharmacy said that it has delayed the announcement of medical marijuana dispensary licenses for the state. The board had expected to make the information available on Wednesday and name as many as 56 licensees in 28 geographic areas. Hopeful applicants had filed 356 applications to open cannabis dispensaries. State regulators now expect to award provisional licenses to successful applicants at its monthly meeting scheduled for June 4-6.
Cameron McNamee, a spokesman for the board, said in an email that it is taking longer than expected to process the applications.
“Postponing the announcement of the awards is due to some unexpected delays in information required to validate an applicant meets the minimum license qualifications,” he wrote. “It does not have to do with the applicant’s scores, as those have been finalized since March. The Board fully expects that all outstanding information will be obtained or confirmed in order to move ahead with the issuance of provisional licenses in June.”
McNamee also said that the board is still in the process of verifying information such as distances of proposed dispensaries from sensitive-use sites such as schools and churches.
“We wanted to make sure everyone meets those minimum qualifications,” he told local media.
Lawmakers Approved Medical Marijuana Program in 2016
In November of 2015, Ohio voters rejected a ballot proposal that would have legalized cannabis for medical and adult use. But only one year later, support for medical marijuana in the state had swelled. So, lawmakers passed House Bill 523 and Gov. John Kasich signed it into law in June 2016. Since that time, regulators have been creating the rules to govern the program.
Under the law, patients with one or more of 21 serious medical conditions will be allowed