Ohio MMJ Patients Note Price Surges at Dispensaries

With adult-use cannabis around the corner, Ohio patients are feeling the financial squeeze at the dispensary. Prices have been steadily rising with the anticipation of the adult-use program opening to the public. Some cultivators in the medical program testified at the Ohio Statehouse earlier this year about sitting on products they cannot sell and now prices have skyrocketed as if product is scarce. 

Ohio Cannabis Prices climbed Significantly in Last Year

MedicateOH previously published an article comparing Ohio prices to Michigan prices. Looking back at the Ohio dispensary prices from Spring, it is not hard to see just how far prices have climbed in the Buckeye state. While some prices have remained relatively the same, others have increased tremendously. Here’s a sampling:

What’s the Cause?

What is the cause of this surge and how is it affecting medical cannabis patients? After asking patients, dispensary employees, and those generally in-the-know, there are a few key points that keep repeating:

1. Cultivators and Processors have increased their prices

Dispensary employees report that their prices have increased because the wholesale prices of products have gone up. 

2. Cultivators and Processors are no longer offering discounts on products that they can then pass down to the consumer

Cultivators, processors, and dispensaries all have relationships with one another. There are instances where a cultivator or processor will offer a discount on their wholesale prices. This gives the dispensary the opportunity to pass down more savings to the patients by offering the product at a lower price. As discounts for wholesale disappear, so do a lot of sales.

3. The idea is to keep consumers from being able to afford so much cannabis that there would be nothing left AKA “preventing a shortage”

Since none of the dispensaries know when they will be able to start their adult-use sales, they are trying to keep as much inventory as they can so they can serve everyone once their adult-use license is active. Currently, all dispensaries in Ohio serve less than 200,000 medical patients. However, when adult-use opens up to the public, the same dispensaries will be responsible for serving up to 8,699,378 adults 21 and up.

4. Cultivators are holding back bulk product, making sales reliant on tenths 

Patients like to save their days and their trips to the dispensary. Cannabis flower is often sought after in bulk quantities for these very reasons. However, most cultivators have stopped packaging flower in bigger quantities to be able to offer every dispensary in the state their product.

5. Lack of inventory options when purchasing from cultivators and processors because everyone is stocking up before adult use begins

Because every dispensary is busy stocking up, currently available products are being spread thin.

6. Cultivators are pricing their cannabis higher to cover the overhead they are drowning in from expanding their grows and employees

In anticipation for the adult-use market, cultivators and processors had to increase staff numbers, increase square footage of their establishment, purchase more equipment, and more. The overhead cost of all of this is being passed down through their wholesale pricing.

Legalization of cannabis is designed to curb illegal activity. But what happens when the prices in the regulated market are so high, that it actually feeds into the illegal market? 

There will always be people willing to pay the heavy price tag at their local dispensary, but in order for the legal program to be successful long-term, it cannot price out the consumers on a budget. Ohio regulators and politicians also have an ethical obligation to keep Ohioans safe – this includes making sure they are legally safe, as well as physically. Testing is done on cannabis to ensure our physical health, but if pricing continues to surge or even remains stagnant at its current rate, we are only emboldening the tax-free market and encouraging citizens to break the law by going out of state. While Ohio prices are climbing, Michigan continues to remain around the same prices we saw back in the Spring.

The excise tax on adult-use cannabis in Ohio is low compared to other states. However, most can agree that some regulations should be in place to protect medical patients from price-gouging. No one should be priced out of their medicine just because adult-use cannabis is about to start.

DCC Response 

MedicateOH posed the question about Ohio dispensary price surges to the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC). DCC spokesperson Jamie Crawford explains: “Licensed dispensaries are private businesses that set the retail prices of their products based on many factors, such as product types and supply, wholesale prices, and demand. While the Division monitors average plant material and manufactured product prices and provides this information for public awareness, the Division encourages patients (and future non-medical consumers) to review dispensary menus for real-time product prices.” 

Check Local Sales for Best Prices

MedicateOH echoes the DCC’s recommendations to review dispensary menus in your area for the best prices. Utilize resources such as Dutchie and IHeartJane to check on dispensary sales in your area.

• Nar Columbus offers 30% for Indigent/Veterans on Tuesdays, 25% off the store on Fridays, and 20% off the store on Sundays
• Story Cannabis currently offers buy one get one on all products twice a week
• Amplify stacks discounts
• Bloom Medicinals Columbus offers Buy 1 Item get 10% OFF, Buy 2 Items get 20% OFF, Buy 3 Items get 30% OFF on August 2, 2024
• All Sunnyside patients registered as a Veteran get 30% off their purchase
• Rise Cleveland is offering a 20% Reduction on &Shine, Good Green, and RYTHM brand Flower

Sign up for emails from your local dispensaries to get the latest information on products and sales.

Any questions and comments about pricing of Ohio cannabis products can be directed to the DCC at mmcp@com.ohio.gov.

Follow MedicateOH to get the latest information about cannabis in Ohio. 

Though it may be tempting to cross state lines, it is imperative that our readers understand that purchasing cannabis products in Michigan and bringing them into Ohio is FEDERALLY ILLEGAL. Crossing state lines with your purchase while cannabis is still under federal prohibition means that you are drug trafficking. Additionally, Michigan cannabis products and packaging are ILLEGAL in Ohio, and vice versa.