Two new Canton sites receive provisional cannabis dispensary licenses

CANTON – Two new cannabis dispensaries are coming to Canton as part of a state expansion to improve patient access.

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy, which regulates dispensaries, awarded provisional licenses to Citizen Real Estate LLC at 401 Cherry Ave. NE, and The Green Goat Dispensary LLC at Greentree Avenue SW. Canton currently has two dispensaries — Zen Leaf at 3224 Cleveland Ave. NW and The Botanist at 3840 Greentree Ave. SW, just north of the new dispensary site.

State officials approved a slate of provisional licenses last week that will more than double the number of dispensaries. About 230 different entities submitted nearly 1,500 applications.

The 70 new licenses were awarded via lottery with a certain number allocated for each dispensary district containing a county or group of counties.

Citizen Real Estate LLC, an Akron-based cultivator and processor doing business as Klutch Cannabis, received its first dispensary licenses in the lottery for sites in Canton and Lorain. The company submitted 73 dispensary applications — the most submissions from a single company — and each required a $5,000 application fee.

CEO Adam Thomarios said he expects to close on the Cherry Avenue NE property in the coming weeks and then begin interior and security renovations for the dispensary.

"We're hopeful that we can get it open by the end of the year," he said.

The Canton dispensary will be called The Citizen by Klutch, said Pete Nischt, vice president of compliance and communications. It will sell the company's own products as well as California-based Kiva Confections and other brands.

"Because of the way advertising regulations are set up here in Ohio, really the best and only way that we can interact directly with patients and have control over how our products are marketed and sold is to have a retail presence," Nischt said. "So we're ecstatic that we're finally going to get the chance to do that in the state."

The Pride 821 club, which opened last summer at 401 Cherry Ave. NE, closed a few weeks ago because of the property owner's pending sale to the dispensary, club owner Kim Jackson said.

A representative for The Green Goat Dispensary LLC could not be reached for comment.

Canton is part of the northeast district made up of Stark, Tuscarawas, Carroll and Columbiana counties. Ratio Cannabis LLC in New Philadelphia received the third new dispensary license in the district, bringing the total number of district dispensaries to six.

The Board of Pharmacy conducted the drawing earlier this year and reviewed applications to determine whether they met business, security and patient care requirements. Dispensaries also can't be within 500 feet of schools, churches, libraries and other facilities.

The board announced last year that it would conduct a lottery for 73 more marijuana licenses, bringing the total statewide to 131. Officials are still reviewing applications for the remaining three licenses.

The board used a lottery process in the hope of curbing lawsuits from unsuccessful applicants who disputed the previous, merit-based system. Officials also argued the drawing would level the playing field and ensure small and minority-owned businesses can compete against big players.

Black lawmakers and business owners say this alone won't encourage equity in the industry and have advocated for requiring licensees to commit to diverse hiring practices or spend a certain amount on minority vendors.

Ohio currently has 58 licensed dispensaries. The pharmacy board in 2017 set an initial limit of 60 based on an estimated patient count of between 12,000 and 24,000 over two years.

Over 261,000 patients are currently registered under the program, and nearly 138,000 had an active recommendation from a physician. Many have complained about high prices and needing to drive long distances to find deals or certain products.

Where are the new dispensaries?

One-third of the new licenses went to dispensaries in Franklin, Hamilton and Cuyahoga counties, with nine going to businesses in Columbus. Eight of the licenses were awarded to dispensaries in Cincinnati.

Among the locations are vacant Family Video stores in Coshocton, Columbus, Tiffin, Delphos and Dayton.

Dispensaries in smaller cities like Lima, Athens and Piqua also received licenses. Three districts in western Ohio that did not previously have any dispensaries will each have at least one.

See where the dispensaries are located on the map below:

USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau reporter Jessie Balmert contributed.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Two new Canton sites receive provisional cannabis dispensary licenses