Dispensaries prepare for recreational sale of marijuana Tuesday

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Recreational marijuana sales will begin to roll out across Ohio starting Tuesday, and dozens of dispensaries said they've received the licenses to start selling.

One medical dispensary in downtown Columbus, The Botanist, has the approval to sell recreational marijuana starting Tuesday. Owners said that despite a long period of hurry-up-and-wait, now there is a lot of excitement in the air.

For the last few years, the Botanist has been selling medical marijuana to those with medical cards. On Friday, the dispensary got the notice it could convert the store to dual-use, meaning sell both medical and recreational marijuana.

It applied a while ago and since then, has been adding to its stock in preparation for recreational sale. The director of retail operations for The Botanist said they expect a 100 to 150 percent increase in business.

"The hurry-up-and-wait component has been a little bit of a buzzkill at times, but, you know, now that we finally have to go live word for tomorrow, you know, the excitement is crazy,” Director of Retail Operations for The Botanist, Gyen Musgrave, said. “Employees want to come in. They are offering to work full days, you know, so excitement level is high."

The dispensary is upping staff as well. Musgrave said there are usually around 15 to 20 staff on site, depending at which location, but on Tuesday, it will be around 30.

However, not everything is changing. The Botanist shares that the medicinal marijuana industry is the backbone and want to make sure patients still have that smooth access.

The Botanist will be rolling out accommodations for medical users including medicinal-only hours, expedited checkouts, and discounts.

"I would say please bear with us as we iron out any of the kinks on day one,” Musgrave said. “Like I said previously, you know, I think we set a standard in the last several years with the medical program and, you know, bare minimum, we hope to meet that standard, if not, you know, ideally exceed it.”

Across the state, the 10% tax imposed on recreational marijuana will not be charged on medicinal products.