Recreational marijuana is now legal in Ohio. What's the buzz statewide?

The first day of legalized recreational marijuana in Ohio was a downer for Giovanni Romani, an Akron resident who showed up Thursday morning at the Botanist in Akron.

Romani arrived at the medical marijuana dispensary to celebrate but was sad to learn from a reporter before he entered the facility that recreational sales aren't yet allowed.

"I was really excited," he said.

Although Issue 2 was approved by voters last month and took effect Thursday, officially legalizing recreational cannabis use and possession in the state, pot enthusiasts and experimenters without a medical card can't stock up in Ohio just yet.

Late Wednesday, the Ohio Senate voted to allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to sell recreational marijuana and lower the number of plants residents are allowed to grow per household. Gov. Mike DeWine asked lawmakers to act quickly on the legislation to regulate the new program. However, the House did not take a vote on the issue.

USA TODAY Network Ohio reporters visited medical marijuana dispensaries across the state Thursday and spoke with dispensary owners to hear the latest buzz on legalized marijuana.

Staying true to Issue 2

Kate Nelson, executive vice president of the Midwest and Northeast regions for Acreage Holdings, which operates The Botanist dispensaries, said now is a good time for Ohio to add recreational sales. There's recently been more cannabis than demand in the medical market.

The existing medical market and regulatory framework also help because "businesses would be able to adjust and adapt very quickly," she said.

“I think the most important thing is just again, honoring the fact that Issue 2 is what the voters wanted," Nelson said. "So as the legislature looks at ensuring that this is a safe and accessible program, really staying true to the intention of Issue 2 is the most important thing."

Northeast Ohio brain cancer patient looks forward to growing marijuana at home

At Curaleaf in Cuyahoga Falls, Hannah Smagola of Cuyahoga Falls arrived to purchase medical marijuana. But she said she supports recreational use.

"The biggest thing I'm excited about [is] with us being allowed to grow, I can know what's in my medicine," she said. "That's the biggest change [I'm] looking forward to."

Issue 2 allows households with two or more adults to have up to 12 cannabis plants, but some state lawmakers are trying to eliminate or reduce that number.

Smagola said she has an aggressive, terminal form of brain cancer.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy wreaked havoc on her quality of life, she said. Medical marijuana has helped.

"I originally started using it for symptoms from anxiety," she said. "Oh, my God, did it help."

She continued to use it and hopes prices will come down because her insurance doesn't pay for the medical marijuana.

"Ohio's dispensary prices, they are high," she said. "[Marijuana] gave my quality of life back."

'Everybody should have access' to marijuana in Ohio

Ali George of Cuyahoga Falls arrived Thursday morning at Curaleaf to pick up a medical marijuana order. She said she's a supporter of expanding access beyond medical use.

"I think everybody should have access to [it]," she said. "I feel like alcohol is legal, and people do worse things when they're drinking."

George said recreational sales will help standardize the product.

"You never know what's on the streets these days," she said.

Cincinnati resident unable to access pain meds, turns to medical marijuana at dispensary

A 66-year-old Cincinnati resident made his very first visit to a dispensary, Sunnyside Dispensary in Madisonville, Thursday morning. He joined the state's medical marijuana program the day prior because access to his pain medication became increasingly difficult, he said.

"For the last seven years, the state of Ohio has been removing my pain [medication] ... and my doctor left after 25 years," said Joe, who declined to give his last name.

He hopes turning to medical marijuana will help ease chronic pain he's been experiencing for decades in his knees, hips, shoulders, hands and back.

"I've got chronic back pain after two surgeries because they screwed up the first surgery," Joe said, adding that he also has osteoarthritis.

'They drive hours to get here, then I have to send them home crying'

Jamie Murphy, the assistant general manager at Cincinnati's Story of Ohio dispensary in Oakley, said she's constantly turning away people looking to buy recreationally. She's tempted to put up a "medical marijuana only" sign on her front window to lessen all the confusion, she said.

She finds it particularly disheartening when she has to turn away customers looking to use an out-of-state medical card.

"I've had people drive hours to come here, and then we're not able to sell to them. They'll be sobbing, crying after driving hours," Murphy said.

According to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program, the state does not currently recognize medical marijuana cards issued in other states.

Alex Greeley, a shift supervisor at Story of Ohio, mentioned a specific time a couple from Louisville, Kentucky drove across state lines to purchase medical marijuana, only to be turned away.

Murphy explained that the situation in Kentucky is difficult because the state will not be selling medical cannabis products until 2025, leaving card-holders at a loss.

Columbus dispensaries report ‘business as usual’ on first day of recreational marijuana in Ohio

In Columbus, dispensaries largely saw business as usual Thursday morning, with a steady stream of customers stopping in.

A security guard at Verdant Creations in Columbus said he had turned away one customer expecting to purchase marijuana products for recreational use during the first hour the dispensary was open.

Kent dispensary ready to sell recreational marijuana ASAP

Dwayne Siekman, co-owner of Bliss Ohio, said the medical marijuana dispensary in Kent is ready to start selling recreational marijuana as soon as it gets the go-ahead from the state.

"We already have those product lines," he said. "[But] we are going to keep prioritizing medical marijuana patients."

He said the Ohio Senate version passed Wednesday night would allow sales at dispensaries, with limits on how much could be sold.

Those limits, he said, would be 2.5 ounces for flower, 15 grams for extracts that could be in the form of concentrates or vapes, and 100 milligrams for edibles.

If the House and Senate pass legislation with emergency language, the law would take effect immediately.

Siedman said that option would be his preference.

"We hope next week that that happens and we can start servicing residents of Kent..." he said. "There was strong support for [Issue 2] cannabis use in the city."

Canton smoke shop Quonset Hut still ‘tobacco use only’

Quonset Hut, a Canton gift shop with a variety of smoke and cannabinoid products, will continue to sell items “for tobacco use only” until the state offers more guidance.

Co-owner Matt Hisrich and manager Megan Traynor said they’ve received calls and customers who want to buy cannabis. It’s something the shop might be interested in offering once the legal framework is defined.

“There’s so much ambiguity right now,” Hisrich said.

He expects there to still be a market for CBD and other cannabinoid products with little or no THC because employers can still drug test employees. Drug tests can detect cannabis for several days to weeks, according to Medical News Today.

Mitchell Mayle, a cashier at Quonset Hut and a Canton-area resident, said cannabis legalization is "long overdue." He also said there's a lot of unknowns yet but feels the state will work it out.

"It's just a matter of time," he said.

Assistant Manager Jordan Pearson has worked at the shop for 10 years and said it's been interesting to see innovation in the cannabis industry with newer products like concentrates and vaporizers gaining popularity. She's curious to see how legalization will affect that and accessibility.

"I'm really excited to see where it goes," Pearson said.

'Nothing's set in stone'

At the Ohio Cannabis Company dispensary in Canton, co-founder Cindy Bradford and supervisor Beckett Salchak said they are excited for a recreational market but, like everyone, are unsure of the details. Salchak noted that "nothing's set in stone" when it comes to the permitted THC levels and other regulations.

"For us, we're just excited to be able to serve more people," he said.

Salchak said he has several conditions, including chronic pain, that led him to cannabis for treatment when he refused opioids for pain management. A medical marijuana card has given him more choices when choosing cannabis and confidence that it's safer than the illicit market.

"It's just a more reliable treatment," Salchak said.

The possibility of street marijuana being laced with other, more potent drugs is a real concern, Bradford said, speaking as a mother. Medical staff also are knowledgeable about variations in cannabis or cannabis products that can improve or worsen conditions.

The Ohio Cannabis Company would be interested in selling cannabis for recreational use, Bradford said, but differing THC limits between the adult-use and medical programs would require separate vault storages. She also expects the plant to be packaged more for individual sales rather than bulk, which the dispensary purchases now from cultivators to then pass on the discount to patients.

“I really wish we knew definitively because it does make it hard to plan,” Bradford said.

The greatest uncertainty to her is what percentage of tax will be placed on recreational sales and where that revenue will go. Bradford said high taxes might empower the illicit market, and Salchak wants the money to aid minority businesses and expungements for past cannabis offenses. “My hope is that some of it goes to social justice,” he said.

Bailey Gallion of The Columbus Dispatch contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Weed is legal in Ohio. Dispensaries, customers react to new law