In November 2023, Ohio became the 24th state to adopt an adult-use cannabis legalization measure. Ohio regulators are currently accepting and processing applications for the state’s legal recreational cannabis industry, and legal adult-use cannabis sales are expected to begin in Ohio as soon as next month.
Leafly is a popular online cannabis platform and describes itself as, “the world’s most trusted destination to discover cannabis products and order them from legal, licensed retailers.” According to Leafly’s search data from the last month, the following cannabis strains are currently the most popular in Ohio:
- Blue Dream
- Original Glue
- Super Boof
- Lemon Cherry Gelato
- Runtz
- Gary Payton
- Ice Cream Cake
- Wedding Cake
- Permanent Marker (Leafly Strain of the Year 2023)
- GMO Cookies
“Cannabis starts at about $3 per gram right now for low-grade ‘shake’ in the medical system, which will be a good baseline for upcoming recreational prices. The top end hits $12 per gram. Expect prices to rise maybe 20% as demand swamps supply. Eventually, supply equalizes and surpasses demand, and prices will start falling.” Leafly stated about cannabis prices in Ohio.
Leafly determined that the average price for a one-gram vape cartridge is currently $50-60 in Ohio. According to Statista, an estimated 22% of Ohioans consumed cannabis at least once in the past year, which equates to nearly 2.6 million people.
Pablo Zuniac of Zuniac and Associates recently conducted an analysis of Ohio’s cannabis industry, and is projecting that by mid-2025 the state will have 254 licensed cannabis dispensaries, nearly double what the state currently has for medical cannabis.
“Ohio is estimated to have 254 dispensaries by mid-2025, according to new equity research by a marijuana financial analyst, putting it in the middle of the density pack among states where recreational marijuana is sold.” Cleveland.com stated in its original reporting.
“The 254 dispensaries Zuniac estimates Ohio will have by the middle of next year would be 22 dispensaries for every 1 million people in the state.” Cleveland.com also stated.
According to cannabis industry data company Headset, “Ohio has been averaging $40 million in monthly sales over the past year. Generally, we see a 2 to 3X increase in sales with adult-use conversion, which would put Ohio at an $85 million monthly run rate right out of the gate. This is conservative; we anticipate even higher sales due to Ohio’s unique market dynamics and large population.”
The pre-roll sector in Ohio is assumed to experience the most dramatic change, with Headset pointing out that, “Ohio’s medical market prohibits smoking, banning Pre-Rolls, a category that captures 13.4% of national sales. Expect this to change with adult use, leading to significant opportunities in the Pre-Roll category.”
According to initial reporting by Marijuana Moment, Ohio recreational sales are anticipated to generate between $276.2 million and $403.6 million in annual cannabis tax dollars within five years.
Ohio’s 123 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries sold over $54 million worth of medical cannabis products in March 2024 according to new data released by the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control, up from $38.4 million total sales in February 2024. March’s sales figures were also an increase over March 2023 sales totals.