Greater Cincinnati residents with a medical marijuana card will be able to purchase legal marijuana at a local dispensary starting today.
Verilife, located at 5431 Ridge Road in Columbia Township, has completed all necessary state-sanctioned steps to open and will have a full stock of products, representatives for the dispensary said in a news release.
Ohio law allows licensed dispensaries to sell oils, tinctures, edibles, and other products for vaping to Ohioans with any of more than 20 conditions who have gone through the state’s process for getting a medical marijuana card. Smokeable marijuana is not permitted under the law.
The retail location will feature private consultation rooms where staff can advise people dealing with specific conditions about the best cannabis-based option for them.
“Whether it’s tinctures for the senior citizen with cancer receiving chemotherapy, or vaporizers for the patient with chronic pain, we want to ensure our patients are empowered to find what works to meaningfully improve their lives,” said general manager Chaz Mize in a statement.
Verilife is owned by Illinois-based PharmaCann, which says it is one of the largest medicinal marijuana retailers in the U.S.
Another nearby dispensary, About Wellness Ohio, opened in Lebanon in late May. Ohio lawmakers approved legal medicinal marijuana in 2016, but a complicated and at times legally contentious rollout meant that the first dispensaries did not begin opening until three years later.
Verilife’s news release states that only patients with valid medicinal marijuana cards will be permitted to enter the retail store.
“Our Verilife dispensaries are really a reflection of the growing public acceptance we’ve seen for medical marijuana as a legitimate option for patients’ health,” CEO Brett Novey said. “It is our mission to ensure people have access to the most effective options for feeling and living better. We are constantly researching and developing new forms and formulations of cannabinoid-based treatments to improve patients’ well-being.”
