Ohio Doubled the Number of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy, which regulates dispensaries, is awarding additional 73 licenses. Black legislators and business owners have objections as they want state officials to create a plan on diversifying the industry. The board will also review applications to see if they are compliant with the state law minimum demands. Application process The process of determining which qualified applicants get licenses was changed. Cameron McNamee (a spokesman for the state pharmacy board) said that it would help ensure minority-owned businesses can compete with larger multi-state operators, which are generally not operated by minority owners. Rep. Brent wanted the board to postpone the application process until equity provisions lead to more Black and brown business owners (for now, there are nine dispensaries owned by those identified as African American, Native American, Hispanic, Latino, or Asian). For minority applicants, reduced fees were considered, but they’d likely be struck down in court without the backing of the state law and upend the second round of licenses, as board attorneys said. No study on discrimination in the cannabis industry was conducted, and lawmakers are working on commissioning such a study.
Source by leafly.com