Aug 8, 2024 By Christopher Dacanay 4 min read

WINTERSVILLE, Ohio – Prospective customers began lining up at 6 a.m. Tuesday, three hours before Sunnyside would open to make its first adult-use recreational marijuana sales since being issued a certificate of operation from the Division of Cannabis Control.

Sunnyside is one of 98 existing medical marijuana dispensaries to be issued a dual-use certificate from the DCC, the cannabis regulating arm of the Ohio Department of Commerce. Tuesday’s start of sales marked the most significant event for legalization efforts since Issue 2’s passage by voters Nov. 7 legalized the drug and provided for its regulation.

With separate lines sectioned off for existing medical patients and new recreational customers, Sunnyside’s Wintersville location began filing individuals inside at roughly 9 a.m. to scattered applause from employees and an eager shuffle from customers.

Among enthusiastic employees was Kierston Powell, senior regional marketing manager for the eastern district of Cresco Labs Inc., which operates Sunnyside and cultivates its cannabis products. All five Sunnyside dispensary locations in Ohio have received COOs, and all but the Newark location began sales Tuesday; that one started Wednesday.

“It’s very exciting. I feel like it’s a moment in history that we’ve all been waiting for,” said Powell, who wore a Sunnyside T-shirt and marijuana leaf earrings.

Customers – who must be 21 or older – walk through the front doors and are permitted into the showroom with a valid ID or medical card. From there, they follow a line that lets them see merchandise walls and buffets of product packages. The products themselves are stored in a vault and are obtained upon purchase.

The line Tuesday only continued to grow after doors opened, and Powell said that was expected. Sunnyside has been preparing for the influx of new customers since January. Long lines are anticipated for the first few weeks of recreational sale.

Among those in line were residents of neighboring Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. The first two states have medical programs, though recreational marijuana remains illegal. It is also federally illegal to carry cannabis across state lines.

Customers in line, who declined to be identified, commented on how recreational sales in Ohio have been long-anticipated, and some noted that adult-use is bound to come next in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, based on Ohio’s precedent.

Present for Sunnyside’s opening was Wintersville Mayor Mike Petrella, who said Sunnyside’s certificate is “great news for the village,” citing an expected increase in traffic and its ripple effect on surrounding businesses. Thirty-six percent of excise tax revenue will return to the village, he said, and that will be compounded with the 7.25% Jefferson County sales tax already in place.

“We know there could be some issues with potential people driving under the influence, but our police department is prepared for that as well,” Petrella said.

Two officers were with Petrella Tuesday morning, and the Wintersville Police Department planned to have an officer stationed at the store until 10 p.m.

Petrella is the former owner of the Wintersville medical marijuana dispensary Ohio Valley Natural Relief LLC, which was purchased by Greenlight Dispensary more than a month ago. Based in St. Louis, Greenlight operates 34 dispensaries – medical and dual-use, depending on the market – in seven states.

Casey Efting, Greenlight’s director of retail operations, said OVNR is Greenlight’s first foray into the Ohio cannabis market, where the company hopes to begin establishing more retail operations, informed by its experience in other states.

“We understand the transition from the medical market to the adult-use or recreational market. … “We’re really excited to go through this process again. We went through this (transition) in Missouri last February. It’s really great to have safe access for everyone over the age of 21 that’s consuming these products.”