By: Megan Henry – August 7, 2025
Ohio legal weed sales topped $702.5 million in the first year.
This week marks one year since Ohio began selling recreational marijuana and sales totaled $702,587,948
EditSign with 109,706 pounds sold as of Tuesday, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control. The average price was $6.63 per gram the week of July 27 through Aug. 2.
“The first day of sales was awesome,” said Pete Nischt, vice president of compliance and communications for Klutch Cannabis. “It was really exciting to see people across the state finally get to step into this legal market and purchase safe products. … I think there were still a lot of people at the time that thought the sky was falling.”
Ohioans passed a citizen-initiated law to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 with 57% of the vote, and sales started in August 2024. Ohio lawmakers can change the law since it passed as a citizen initiative not a constitutional amendment.
Ohio Cannabis Coalition Executive Director David Bowling said there is still work to be done around letting people know they can legally buy marijuana in Ohio.
“I talk to people all the time that aren’t aware that you can buy cannabis legally,” he said. “From a revenue perspective, things aren’t exactly where we thought they would be, but they’re not terrible,” Bowling said. “I think people thought we would get closer to $2 billion in revenue.”
Klutch Cannabis, which has four dispensaries in Northeast Ohio, regularly has customers who have never used marijuana before, Nischt said.
“For those people who have used it decades prior, but haven’t used it in a long time, so much has changed now and one of the best parts about a state regulated market is that a lot of the fears that, I think, people had about these products have been addressed by regulations,” he said. “(You) now have high quality products that are produced in a safe facility.”
Ohio has 159 dispensaries licensed to sell both medical and recreational marijuana, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce. There is currently no limit on the number of licenses for dispensaries in Ohio.
Ohio lawmakers have tried — unsuccessfully so far — to change Ohio’s marijuana laws.
Ohio Senate Bill 56 passed in the Senate earlier this year, but has yet to make it out of committee in the House.
The bill would reduce the THC levels in adult-use marijuana extracts from a maximum of 90% down to a maximum of 70%, limit the number of active dispensaries to 400 and prohibit smoking in most public places.
S.B. 56 would also regulate intoxicating hemp products. Only a licensed marijuana dispensary would be able to sell intoxicating hemp products that have been tested and complied with packaging, labeling and advertising requirements. The Ohio Department of Commerce would regulate intoxicating hemp products and drinkable cannabinoid products.
The 2018 Farm Bill says hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3% THC.
Bowling is anxious for lawmakers to deal with intoxicating hemp.
“We still have the intoxicating hemp issue to deal with on the legislative front, and I think that will be the thing that pushes the program where it needs to be,” he said. “I think when (the lawmakers) come back in October, there’s certainly an appetite to get that done.”
