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Three groups discussed their plans to sell medical marijuana in Youngstown
YOUNGSTOWN
Three companies discussed their efforts to open businesses to sell medical marijuana in Youngstown.
The proposals were made Monday to city council for informational purposes. The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy will determine what companies will get the licenses, said Rebecca Gerson, the city’s deputy law director.
The proposals were made by:
Holistic Health Partners LLC, a company operated by Mahoning County residents including A.J. Caraballo, a pharmacist from Boardman.
Holistic has signed a lease contingent on getting a license from the state for a location at 3321 Mahoning Ave., a former bank building in the Mahoning Plaza, Caraballo said.
Holistic officials will be seeking a waiver today to establish the medical marijuana dispensary from the city’s planning commission.
A company of partners from the Mahoning Valley, Columbus and the Chicago area.
The company is in the process of coming up with a name for the business, said Jillian Hanes, director of government relations for JB Hamlin & Co., a Columbus-based government and lobbying firm that is part of the group.
The unnamed company has identified a couple of sites in Youngstown but declined to name them.
Among the partners was John Sullivan of the Chicago area who operates two medical marijuana dispensaries in Illinois.
“We’ve [considered] Columbus as well, but Youngstown is the only place we’ve looked at sites,” Sullivan said.
Green Mile Solutions LLC, owned by Darrin Farrow of Westlake.
Farrow operates a cultivation facility in Oregon, and his company has applied for a cultivation license for Elyria.
A proposed location for a potential Youngstown dispensary should be finalized shortly, said Farrow, who declined to name it.
There are only two medical marijuana dispensary licenses available in all of Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties. Those wanting to apply for the licenses have until Nov. 17 to do so.
Medical marijuana will be made available to purchase by those with 21 different medical conditions by September 2018.
“We don’t make a decision on this, the state does,” said Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th, who ran Monday’s meeting. “We wanted to hear from the groups. This was informational.”
In May, five groups gave proposals to city council to grow medical marijuana in Youngstown. Ohio hasn’t awarded licenses to grow yet.