Most Dayton applicants are planning large sites, Klein said. Such cultivation facilities must be at least 500 feet away from schools, churches, libraries and playgrounds, he said.
Given that the state will approve just 24 cultivators statewide, Klein said he would be surprised if more than three were approved in Dayton. But the businesses would be welcome, if they abide by state and city requirements, he said.
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“This is a legal business like any other that is going to create jobs and business in the community,” Klein said. “Construction jobs are possible, too.”
The state divides the 24 facilities in half by size, with 12 that can have up to 25,000 square feet of growing space and 12 up to 3,000 square feet.
Klein declined to identify any of Dayton’s applicants before the state’s deadline.
Not about smoking pot
In Yellow Springs, officials are talking with Illinois-based medical cannabis company Cresco Labs about plans in that village.
Yellow Springs Council President Karen Wintrow said village leaders have been “incredibly impressed” with Cresco and some staff have visited the company’s facilities in Illinois.
The company offers a business and a product, including edibles, that would be beneficial to village and area residents, she said.
“This is not about smoking pot,” Wintrow said. “This is about advanced pharmaceuticals.”
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Charlie Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Lab, said medical marijuana is an unmet need for many patients. Bachtell praised Ohio law, saying the state allows general chronic or intractable pain as a acceptable condition for receiving a prescription for medical pot.
Medical pot gives doctors “another tool in their toolbox,” Bachtell said.
“Cannabis has been used for 5,000-plus years for two main medical purposes — nausea and pain relief,” he said.
Medical cannabinoids can be helpful in the treatment of childhood epilepsy, post-traumatic stress syndrome, stimulating appetite and other uses, said Jim Reynolds, Wilmington College president, who has spoken with CannAscend Ohio LLC and that company’s plans for Wilmington.
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“These are plants that don’t cause a euphoric effect like you would normally expect from smoking high-THC-concentration marijuana,” Reynolds said.
Last week, Carlisle in Warren County rescinded part of its medical marijuana moratorium to allow a cultivation facility, also giving an applicant company — Ohio Craft Cultivators LLC— an option on 10 acres in a business park, at $45,000 an acre.
Any land sale is dependent on Ohio Craft Cultivators winning a state license, said Julie Duffy, Carlisle village manager.
If it goes forward, the sale would pay off debt Carlisle has on the land, Duffy said. “From our perspective, that’s a good thing.”
A new direction
In Clinton County, Jimmy Gould — principal backer of CannAscend Ohio LLC with his partners — has a land contract with a Wilmington economic development corporation to buy 19 acres near on Davids Drive near the Wilmington Air Park, if the group secures state licensing.
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With partner Ian James, Gould was co-founder of Responsible Ohio, a pro-marijuana legalization group that campaigned for marijuana legalization in Ohio in 2015.
Gould said he has made peace with that failed effort and is ready to go in a new direction.
“We’re right on target to turn in, in my opinion, the best application that anybody will turn in,” Gould said.
June 16 was the deadline for small-scale cultivators to apply to the state. Companies seeking to become one of the state’s 12 large-scale cultivators have until June 30 to submit applications.
The General Assembly passed a medical pot law last September. Cannabis for eligible medical conditions is expected to be available by September next year.
Gould wants to build a large facility that can house initially 25,000 square feet of “vegetation flowering” space. Administrative offices and “tight security” would also be part of the building, with offices for “processing,” too.
“We still have to continually keep in mind what we’re after, which is a proper industry, a regulated industry, that allows patients to get what they need as an alternative to maybe something else, such as opioids,” Gould said.
More than 300,000 users
Medical cannabis can assist an array of medical conditions, and he believes it can also assist with opioid withdrawal. Gould thinks there could be 300,000 Ohio patients using medical marijuana, after five years.
Gould said he has met with Reynolds, Wilmington College’s president, to discuss creating some kind of agricultural educational program linked to his cultivation operation.
Reynolds believes there are possibilities, but he said that neither he nor the college are financial backers of CannAscend Ohio.
“We’re just working out of details right now about we can work together,” Reynolds said. “There are some opportunities there for our students.”
The Clinton County college has a strong science and agriculture curriculum, one that existed for more than 70 years, Reynolds said.
Students could study not only indoor farming and vertical farming operations, but supply chain and environmental issues, as well as biology and chemistry.
Though not a land grant institution, Wilmington College is the only private college in Ohio that offers a degree in agriculture, he said.
In general, Reynolds says he supports Gould’s plans if they mean an economic strengthening of the Wilmington area.
“From an economic development standpoint, I think our city and our county have really taken it on the chin in the last seven years,” Reynolds said. “It’s an opportunity for economic development, more jobs to the city and the county.”
Twenty-nine states, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico allow some medicinal marijuana use. Meanwhile, the federal government classifies cannabis as a “Schedule I” substance under the Controlled Substances Act, considered to have a high potential for dependency, along with heroin, LSD and ecstasy.
Kerry Francis, an Ohio Department of Commerce spokeswoman, said she could offer information on applicants statewide.
Possible area medical cannabis cultivation sites:
Dayton
Wilmington
Carlisle
Yellow Springs
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