The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law published its annual report on the state medical marijuana program, showing an increase in total sales of 10% and patient enrollment growing by about 18.2%, while patient satisfaction with the five-year-old program jumped substantially in 2023.
According to the report, cannabis dispensaries saw a 39.6% increase in flower and trim sales and a 33.9% increase in manufactured product sales. Despite marijuana prices decreasing by 33.1%, total sales for the year increased by 10%. Patient enrollment grew by 18.2% from June 2022 to June 2023.
A survey of patients in the report revealed that 75% of respondents say they purchase 80-100% of cannabis from a licensed dispensary, with 25% seeking additional non-licensed products primarily due to the higher costs at dispensaries and costs of patient enrollment.
Respondents reporting to be extremely satisfied or somewhat satisfied jumped from 6% in 2022 to 62.1% in 2023. Extremely satisfied patients accounted for 18.9% and somewhat satisfied patients accounted for 43.2% of respondents. Conversely, 29.8% of respondents reporting being extremely or somewhat dissatisfied with the program. Overall, 86.6% of patients reported trusting the safety of the products being sold at licensed dispensaries, with only 6.5% reporting that they do not trust the safety of dispensary products.
When asked what policy changes would generate more satisfaction with the medical marijuana program, 74.5% of respondents said legal protections for employment, housing and access to firearms. The report states that home cultivation and delivery were also listed as policy changes that would positively impact patients’ outlook on the program but did not specify the percentages of patients seeking those policy changes. On the other hand, 76.24% said that no longer allowing virtual medical appointments to obtain a patient card would negatively impact patient outlook on the program and 66% said removing online ordering would decrease their satisfaction with the program.
The state has collected more than $183 million in revenue from the medical marijuana program since January 2019.
The report also includes policy recommendations following Ohio’s successful vote to legalize recreational cannabis in November. The potential cannabis tax revenue estimate ranges between $276-$403 million based on tax revenue data and trends from select adult-use states and the tax revenue structure outlined in the ballot initiative.