Adult use marijuana sales begin

SANDUSKY — Recreational marijuana sales began across Ohio Tuesday, including at two Erie County locations and at a Fremont dispensary. A third Erie County location, The Forest, announced it has been approved to begin recreational sales today. The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control approved 98 locations in Ohio to begin recreational sales Tuesday, including many northern Ohio dispensaries. All of the approved locations previously had sold marijuana products to customers with medical marijuana cards. Local dispensaries that began sales Tuesday included Firelands Scientific, 2300 University Dr. E, Huron; Ascend Cannabis, 6019 Milan Road (U.S. 250), Sandusky; and Terrasana Cannabis, 1800 E State St., Fremont. All three posted information on their websites about available cannabis products, including flower (i.e. marijuana that is smoked), edibles, vaporizers, concentrates and tinctures. State officials said that 244 medical marijuana dispensaries had applied for dual use permits to sell recreational marijuana, too, and state regulators apparently are moving quickly to approve applications for dispensaries left out of Tuesday's start date. Ohio voters approved recreational marijuana sales last November. State lawmakers can modify the law if they wish, but so far they have made no changes. Prices on opening day Tuesday were high compared to prices in Michigan, where prices have fallen as production ramped up and the industry matured. Marijuana sales were legalized in Michigan in 2018. Ohio weed customers should expect to be asked to produce an ID to prove they are at least 21 years old. They also should bring cash as credit cards are not accepted, although some dispensaries may accept debit cards or may have ATMs on their sites. Marijuana dispensaries typically have "budtenders" on-site to provide information. In addition, Ohio customers seeking pain relief who don't hold medical marijuana cards can now make purchases and should be able to get advice on what to try. Commercial marijuana products generally are quite potent. Overdoses are not uncommon for inexperienced consumers, although marijuana overdoses typically are unpleasant rather than dangerous. New consumers typically are advised to go "low and slow." For example, anyone trying an edible such as a gummy should look at the package for dosage information and start with a 5-milligram dose of THC, the active ingredient. Wait about 90 minutes for it to take effect before deciding to consume an additional amount. Edible marijuana can take 30 minutes to two hours to take effect and many people overdose because they don't realize that and continue eating marijuana products after feeling no effect at first. For safety reasons, it is also important to store edible marijuana products so that they cannot be eaten by children.