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Why is cannabis compliance such a big deal? Staying within state regulations means you’re protecting your business investment. If you make a compliance mistake, you could get fined or worse – have your license to sell cannabis revoked.

To help, we put together this list of regulations unique to running a medical cannabis dispensary in Ohio:

1. Cannabis dispensaries can sell expired plant material to a licensed processor if all the original seals are intact.

Most internal inventory rules are consistent throughout the US for maintaining and disposing of wasted cannabis. At the same time, Ohio has some solutions for repurposing active THC by allowing dispensaries to sell it to a processor licensed by the Department of Commerce so long as the tamper-proof seals and original packaging are still valid.

2. Ohio medical cannabis dispensaries sell products in 45-day periods, with specific consumption rules.

This Ohio breakdown of cannabis laws specifies, "It is legal to possess a 90-day supply of medical marijuana. It is a felony to possess over 200 grams of marijuana. It is illegal to grow weed, both for medical or recreational use. Qualifying patients can use medical marijuana in cream, edible, flower, lotion, oils, patches, and tincture forms.”

The daily patient limits can be tricky to measure in Ohio because doctors write 90-day recommendations, split into two 45-day fill periods. Patients can get their plant medicine filled from days 1-45 and from days 46-90, purchasing 45 days of product maximum within each period.

The Board of Pharmacy created an online form to help patients keep track of their fill schedules, and dispensaries are required to track every transaction, product, and amount sold. Since patients aren’t allowed to grow their own medicine, dispensaries can’t sell clones, seeds, or other cultivation products that would facilitate the home-growing process.

Ohio even restricts smoking cannabis, and it’s only technically allowed through a vaporizing device. Patients can inhale, ingest, and transdermally apply cannabis treatment depending on their ailment. There are also caps on the potency of each product; extracts can’t test over 75% THC, and plant material can’t be over 35% THC. Those products shouldn’t make it to your shelves, but make sure your budtenders are counting their patients’ quantities and not advising inhalation besides vaporizers.

3. Ohio helps you manage cannabis inventory compliance from the beginning.

The state requires dispensaries to hire a designated compliance manager to lead or oversee the inventory control system (Metrc). Accessible by the regulators, the system is web-based and requires daily backups. The compliance point person is responsible for ensuring items get stocked by FIFO (first-in, first-out) and that processor intakes and consumer sales are all accounted for.

Each package sold must remain in its original packaging with a label that includes the processor or cultivator it came from, the weight, type, and potency information, the doctor’s usage instructions, and the dispensary selling it. Dispensaries must record products following a serial number system, each sale, and the corresponding patient information.

As the law states: “The designated representative shall conduct and document an audit of the dispensary's daily inventory according to generally accepted accounting principles at least once weekly.” They must also correct errors or report losses within two business days. If a loss of any cannabis product is related to theft, the dispensary must report it to the state regulators and local law enforcement.

Cannabis dispensaries can process and destroy returned cannabis products if:

-The product was defective (Ex: a cartridge that won’t pull)

-The product didn’t match the item on the sales receipt

-The cultivator or processor mislabeled the product

In any of these cases, the dispensary can refund or credit the patient or caregiver who purchased the product. The dispensary staff member must also revise the patient's days' supply to reflect the returned product.

Recalled products work similarly, but the patient needs to return the product to the dispensary within 30 days of the product recall notice. The dispensary staff member should follow standard procedures for destroying the recalled product(s).

4. All cannabis dispensaries must be open at least 35 hours a week, and Ohio doesn’t allow delivery.

Cannabis dispensaries in Ohio are required to make face-to-face transactions without kiosks or additional travel involved. The only “delivery” can happen when a caregiver picks up medicine for their patient. Consider merchandising your store accordingly. While you can arrange curbside, online, or phone orders, you can’t arrange delivery.

You must also be staffed and ready to operate 35 hours a week to meet your licensing requirements. By regulation, you can operate between 7 am and 9 pm and must staff each location with two employees at a time. For security reasons, one of those employees must be a key employee with access to the alarm system.

5. Dispensaries must be firm on patient and staff security measures, restrictions, and surveillance regulations.

Cannabis dispensary employees must always wear visible ID permits that determine their level of access within the facility. It’s not uncommon to require that staff have permits, but not all states require these IDs to be displayed at all times. Video surveillance is also needed 24/7 throughout dispensary grounds, focusing on restricted access areas.

Every Ohio dispensary needs to maintain everything cannabis products need to thrive: adequate lighting, ventilation, temperature, humidity control, and equipment. That includes during closing procedures. A dispensary shall store medical marijuana in an approved safe or approved vault within a restricted access area, along with patient records. Patients 18 or over must check with staff at the lobby before entering the zone with live cannabis—which is drastically different from California and Oregon recreational dispensaries that have evolved to operate like an Apple store.

6. Marketing your cannabis dispensary the right way within Ohio’s tight regulations.

Besides the nationwide rule that your cannabis imagery can’t appeal to children by looking cartoon-like, Ohio has some strict advertising rules regarding dispensary branding—including you can’t sell branded merch to anyone other than your own staff.

Cannabis dispensaries can create a website with contact and service information, but it must be age-gated to those 18 years and older. The state also doesn’t allow online transactions through an e-commerce provider. A dispensary’s website can’t show USG (user-generated content) or consumer reviews in Ohio.

Here’s what you can do:

• Submit your name, logo, or sign to the board for approval.
• Display external signage smaller than 16” H x 18” W.
• Create an age-gated website, get on Google Maps, and populate local business listings.
• Throw vendor pop-up days with games and unmedicated samples.
• Partner with Spendr for Payments + Rewards + Marketing, and give automatic incentives to patients in your area!

At Spendr, we want to keep you up to speed on regulations by offering compliant, cashless payments, consumer rewards, and customer signup and retention campaigns. Reach us at hello@spendr.com or click here to learn how we can help you grow.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Consult your state's up-to-date regulations for more.