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Sites in Dayton, Beavercreek, Riverside and Lebanon also received approval Monday, according to the state board. There will be 56 medical marijuana dispensary sites across the state, including 13 in southwest Ohio.
The licensees are expected to open storefront operations later this year when Ohio’s new medical marijuana industry launches.
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Officials from Pure Wellness LLC did not return a call seeking comment Monday. Documents filed with the state show James Larry Pegram Jr. was listed as the company’s owner and board director Staff from Cannamed Therapeutics could not be reached for comment.
Along with receiving permission to sell medical marijuana in Springfield, Pure Wellness LLC had also previously received a license as one of the state’s large-scale growers. The company has plans to renovate an existing building at 4020 Dayton-Springfield Road in Mad River Twp., outside of Springfield.
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In a previous interview with the News-Sun, Pegram had said Pure Ohio Wellness is an Ohio-based company, though records say the company’s related entities are involved in growing and retail marijuana businesses in Colorado and Nevada.
“We approached this endeavor with the goal of bringing excellence to the medical marijuana field in Ohio. Now that we are in a position to do that, we will not let the people of the state down,” Pegram said.
Joe Catanzaro, a Mad River Twp. trustee, said Pure Wellness’ growing site in Mad River Twp. will fill a vacant building and bring additional revenue to the county. He said feedback from most residents has been more positive than he expected.
“The county is going to benefit, which means the township is going to benefit,” Catanzaro said.
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He said the Mad River site could be one of the first in the state to become operational. Along with bringing in additional revenue, the company is also taking over a roughly $1 million building that had previously been vacant, Catanzaro said. He said the township is making an effort to be more business-friendly.
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Here are the other business names and where the stores will be in southwest Ohio:
Montgomery County: Pure Ohio Wellness LLC, 1875 Needmore Rd., Dayton; CannAscend Alternative, 333 Wayne Ave., Dayton; Schottenstein Aphria III LLC, 5604 Airway Rd., Riverside.
Greene County: Harvest of Ohio LLC., 4370 Tonawanda Trail, Beavercreek.
Warren County: Therapeutic Healing Care, LLC, 1525 Genntown Drive, Suite B, Lebanon.
Butler County: 127 Ohio LLC in the Village of Seven Mile in Butler County; CannAscend Alternative LLC, 300 No. Main St., Monroe.
The licenses are distributed across 28 geographic districts. Three districts, including one that covers Miami County, did not have viable or any applications.
The 56 were among the 376 applications received for dispensary licenses, which will sell medical marijuana to registered, qualified patients whose licensed doctors have recommended they use the drug.
State pharmacy officials and North Highland, a consultant, spent six months reviewing and scoring applications based on business, operations and patient care plans as well as compliance with existing laws.
The Board of Pharmacy also hired an IT security consultant to double check the data integrity during the application process, after the Ohio Department of Commerce discovered scoring problems after the fact.
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The Board of Pharmacy expects to launch its patient registry in July.
Also, the Board of Pharmacy went live Monday with its medical marijuana toll-free help line at 1-833-4OH-MMCP (1-833-464-6627). The help line will respond to questions from patients, caregivers and health professionals about adverse reactions to medical marijuana and other related issues.
The announcement reflects the first round of dispensary licenses.
In June 2016, Kasich signed a bill into law that authorizes use by patients with 21 conditions, including cancer or chronic pain, in the form of edibles, oils, patches and vaporizing. Patients and their caregivers will be allowed to possess up to a 90 day supply. Smoking or home growing it is barred.
In 2017 and this year, regulators with the Medical Marijuana Control Program have been writing rules for growers, processors, testing labs, dispensaries, patients and caregivers as well as reviewing and scoring applications for licenses. It is expected to be fully operational by September 2018.
Marijuana remains an illegal controlled substance under federal law. Despite that, 29 states and the District of Columbia have comprehensive medical marijuana laws and eight states have legalized recreational use, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. MPP notes that 20 other states have medical marijuana laws that the project deems insufficient.
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