Hocking County Cannabis – Is It Legal & Where To Buy 2024

Is Cannabis Cultivation Legal in Hocking County?

Yes. Hocking County in the State of Ohio allows the cultivation of medical marijuana within its borders. This is true for growing cannabis for medical purposes only. As of November 2022, the state has not yet legalized the use and possession of recreational marijuana. Moreover, tending cannabis plants in residential areas for personal consumption is not allowed. The state requires marijuana cultivation areas to be in enclosed boundaries during the vegetative and flowering stages of the marijuana cultivation process. It shall be a misdemeanor offense for any person to grow marijuana in violation of Section 2925.04 of the Ohio Revised Code; he may be liable to pay fines up to $150.

The Ohio Department of Commerce is the regulatory agency responsible for the issuance of licenses to prospective medical marijuana businesses such as cultivators, processors, and dispensaries. Cultivators grow, harvest, package, and label their products to be sold and transported to marijuana processing facilities or dispensaries.

Rule 3796:2-2-01 of the Ohio Administrative Code provides for the rules on cultivator operations and assurance plans. Among those stated is to designate certain areas in the facility based on their function, like a cannabis cultivation area, with limited access between the different regions of the facility. The facility must implement policies and procedures that ensure the secure and proper cultivation of medical marijuana. By establishing and implementing the plan, the production floor is assured of a consistent product supply and minimizes deviation in quality.

Is Cannabis Manufacturing Legal in Hocking County?

Yes. The Department of Commerce issues processor licenses who wish to manufacture medical marijuana products. The different kinds of processors are standalone, vertically integrated facilities, and plant-only processors – cultivators who distribute marijuana plants straight to dispensaries.

Prospective processor applicants must comply with all the requirements to receive a certificate of operation. Included in their provisional license application are the following: non-refundable application fee, business plan, operations plan, quality assurance plan, security plan, financial plan, and any other information requested by the department. The list of processor licensees can be found here.

The operations plan is intended for the secure, safe, sustainable, and proper processing of medical marijuana. It shall detail the processing and extraction techniques used by the licensee, list the medical marijuana products that are proposed to be made, specify the facility designations where the extraction and processing acts will ensue, enact the standards and approaches for manufacturing of plant material and medical marijuana products, and select the facility staffing and employment matters.

Is Cannabis Retail Legal in Hocking County?

Yes. The sale of medical cannabis to patients with certain conditions and caregivers is allowed in Hocking County. However, the State of Ohio currently prohibits the sale of recreational marijuana to consumers. The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy regulates and issues licenses to medical marijuana dispensaries.

Since recreational marijuana is illegal, dispensaries shall ensure to distribute cannabis products to patients and caregivers registered in the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (OMMCP). Patients under 18 years old are not permitted to buy cannabis products unless accompanied by or through their caregivers.

Hocking County residents can purchase edibles. It contains cannabis or its orally administered extracts, whether in the form of food or otherwise. Patients and caregivers can also buy other marijuana products in the form of plant material, oils, tinctures, lotions, creams, and patches. The smoking or combusting of medical marijuana is restricted but allows vaping or vaporization. Dispensaries are cautioned not to sell products containing marijuana which may lure children.

Is Cannabis Delivery Legal in Hocking County?

No. House Bill 523, which provides guidelines on the use and possession of marijuana for medical purposes, does not contain a provision regarding the delivery of products from dispensaries to end consumers. Patients should buy their cannabis dosages over the counter. If not, their registered caregivers may in their stead, purchase and deliver to them their prescribed marijuana products.

On the other hand, the Department of Commerce sets regulations on the transportation of medical marijuana from one entity to another. Cultivators, processors, and dispensaries must have a transportation log detailing the day-to-day shipments sent and received. They must submit the log to the department at least a day prior to the transport within business hours. Delivery vehicles must not make unnecessary or unauthorized stops in transporting the marijuana products from the sending entity to the receiving entity, except when there are multiple receivers in one delivery.

How to Get Medical Marijuana Cards in Hocking County

To acquire Patient & Caregiver Registry Cards, the OMMCP provided a quick reference guide pursuant to Rule 3796:72-01 of the Administrative Code on patient registration. The applicant must go through the following steps:

1. Establish and maintain a physician-patient relationship with a certificate to recommend you to the program. This certified physician will create your profile in the registry.

2. You must have been diagnosed with any qualifying conditions by your physician. These conditions are:

   • Alzheimer’s disease

   • AIDS

   • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

   • Cancer

   • Cachexia

   • Crohn’s disease

   • Chronic, severe or intractable pain

   • Chronic traumatic encephalopathy

   • Epilepsy

   • Fibromyalgia

   • Glaucoma

   • Hepatitis C

   • Huntington’s Disease

   • Inflammatory bowel disease

   • Multiple sclerosis

   • Parkinson’s disease

   • Positive status for HIV

   • Post-traumatic stress disorder

   • Sickle cell anemia

   • Seizure disorders

   • Spasticity

   • Spinal cord disease or injury

   • Tourette syndrome

   • Traumatic brain injury

   • Terminal illness

   • Ulcerative colitis

3. Log in to your profile after confirmation that the physician has entered you in the patient registry, complete your application, and pay the fees. Annual registration fees cost up to $50 for patients and $20 for caregivers. Veterans and indigents may avail of fee reductions.

Bring your registry IDs whenever you are in possession or when purchasing medical marijuana to be correctly identified. The program limits possession of medical marijuana to not more than the 90-day supply needed by the patient.

1-833-4OH-MMCP (1-833-464-6627)

Ohio Medical Marijuana Toll-Free Helpline

Or you may message the OMMCP’s Contact page

How Has Cannabis Legalization Impacted the Economy of Hocking County?

Licensed dispensaries started selling medical marijuana to patients in 2019. Since then, the OMMCP has garnered over one billion dollars in total product sales in three years. In its first month in April, total product sales reached up to $5.2 million selling more than 2,500 units of manufactured products. By the end of November 2022, over ​​12 million units of processed products were sold, resulting in $1.09 billion in total product sales.

The state sales tax is currently at 5.75%, including the sale and purchase of medical marijuana in Hocking County. The state does not impose excise taxes on medical marijuana. The increase in the number of registrants in the program shall also affect proportionately the increase in revenue in the form of taxes.

The Effects of Cannabis Legalization on Crime Rates in Hocking County

House Bill 523 legalized the use of medical marijuana in 2016. However, medical marijuana dispensaries fully operated only in 2019.

The FBI Crime Data Explorer provides data on arrests for illegal marijuana possession, sale, and manufacturing. Prior to the lawful distribution of medical marijuana or from 2018 to 2019, arrests for marijuana possession decreased from 18,000 to 13,000 (-27%). For the same period, there was a 49% decrease (770 to 390) in arrests for the illegal sale and manufacturing of marijuana.

The period from 2019 to 2020 has followed a similar pattern of decreasing rates of arrests. For illegal marijuana possession alone, arrests dropped by around 59% (13,000 to 5,500). In comparison, the arrests for the unlawful sale and manufacturing of medical marijuana went down by 46% (8,000 to 900).