Ohio awarded 2 medical marijuana dispensaries to Milford. But the city is only allowing 1 (2024)

A medical marijuana dispensary that wants to join another planned for Milford is pushing back against the city’s new one-store rule.

A representative of Heaven Wellness LLC said it is in talks with Milford officials about opening a second dispensary, but Milford City Manager Michael Doss disputes that.

The conflicting statements are the latest fallout from Milford’s decision in June to restrict dispensaries within the community to one. One month earlier, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy issued provisional licenses for six dispensaries in the region comprising Clermont, Warren and Clinton counties, with two in Milford: Heaven Wellness and Cascade Southern Ohio LLC. The expansion was intended to better serve the growing medical marijuana patient population.

More:Ohio medical marijuana patients say prices too high, but program improving

Seven months earlier, Milford certified on forms submitted by dispensary license applicants that the city had not banned dispensaries or taken other action that would prohibit them from operating. That was true at the time.

Ohio law gives municipalities the power to restrict or ban dispensaries. Dispensaries can only relocate once they are operational and after receiving approval from the pharmacy board, so Heaven Wellness faces revocation of its provisional license.

The pharmacy board, which limited the number and location of licenses, has no plans to intervene, leaving the region one dispensary short.

City manager: Dispensary dropped the ball

Cascade Southern got the green light from the Milford Planning Commission in July and secured a city zoning certificate to build a 2,825-square-foot dispensary at 401 Rivers Edge Drive. Cascade Southern is owned by a group of Southwest Ohio businessmen according to the application submitted to pharmacy board: Benjamin McBride, Joshua Williams, Mark Williams and Timothy O'Hara. The address listed for the company is the same as Beechmont Ford in Union Township.

Heaven Wellness, based in Chicago, never asked to appear before the planning commission or get on the agenda, Doss said. "The city provided a permit application to Heaven Wellness but never received any filled-out application.”

Milford City Council's vote to accept just one dispensary was made after Doss told members he was concerned about the number of medical marijuana stores seeking and winning licenses.

Doss told the committee the dispensaries could negatively affect economic development given the stigma they can carry.

Samuel Porter III of Columbus, an attorney for Heaven Wellness, provided this statement from owner Paul Lee and declined to say more:

“We are excited to have won and to be issued a provisional dispensary license from the Ohio Board of Pharmacy in the city of Milford. We are currently working to secure the real estate in the city. We have had great dialogue with the city and we look forward to our ongoing discussions with them.”

Doss said he is not in any negotiations with company and does not know a Paul Lee.

Porter’s name appears in correspondence with Milford officials earlier this year about his client’s interest in opening a dispensary at 315 Rivers Edge Drive.

Pharmacy board rules don't address Milford situation

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy contacted the city Aug. 1 to confirm it had passed a one-dispensary rule for medical marijuana but can do little more.

Doss told the pharmacy board Heaven Wellness would only be authorized to operate if Cascade Southern Ohio "ceased development plans or business operations.”

Operational dispensaries may ask the pharmacy board for permission to relocate within a region, but provisional licensees are ineligible for a move. Provisional licenses may be revoked if dispensaries do not begin operations in 270 days.

Pharmacy board regulations do not specifically address this situation and don't indicate which entity – if any – would receive a provisional dispensary license that has been revoked, said board attorney Michelle Bohan.

But Bohan said the pharmacy board has no plans to amend the rules to head off this kind of complication. The board directs licensees to get their own legal advice on these issues, she said.

“As with all other types of zoning restrictions, applicants are responsible for determining compliance with local laws addressing the prohibition or restriction of these facilities,” Bohan said.

“The board cannot and does not provide legal guidance to applicants on local zoning laws or the legality of zoning ordinances or prohibitions enacted after provisional dispensary licenses are awarded.”

Milford didn't want to be 'guinea pigs'

Milford banned medical marijuana dispensaries in 2017, fearing they would lead to spikes in crime, drug use and overdoses. A councilman noted then that cities near Milford were holding off on accepting the newly allowed stores and that Milford would do well not to serve as “guinea pigs."

But the city reversed itself in June 2021, as the state prepared for a second round of dispensary licenses.

Fifty-eight dispensaries, including six local stores, currently are operating in the state. The Ohio Board of Pharmacy issued provisional licenses for 70 more in May. Seventeen were for local dispensaries, including the two earmarked for Milford.

Three each were issued for Oakley and Monroe, two each for Norwood, Union Township and Oxford and one each for Cincinnati’s central business district, Westwood and Whitewater Township.

Medical marijuana dispensaries can be a revenue source for local governments

Columbia Township’s financial success with two medical marijuana dispensaries has not gone unnoticed.

The township expects to collect a total of about $1 million annually from its dispensaries, David Kubicki, president of its board of trustees, said. In addition to new property and payroll taxes, Columbia Township gets 2.5% of both dispensaries’ gross annual revenues.

He said the township has used its new money to buy underutilized property to put to better use, lower its waste and recycling tax rate and host more community events.

Cascade Southern will pay Milford 1.5% of its annual gross sales to fund public safety, infrastructure improvements and future development, under an agreement approved by city council in September.

Doss said an estimated 10 to 15 dispensary employees – including technicians, physicians and pharmacy staff – would generate new city income taxes and the dispensary building new property taxes.

“The projected increase in customers visiting Milford will have a residual impact on our local restaurants and retail merchants,” Doss said.

“As the dispensary gains additional recognition, the city expects local tourism and usage of our park system, recreational trails and Little Miami River to garner interest from customers patronizing the dispensary.”

Local dispensaries open now

• Columbia Township: Sunnyside dispensary at 5149 Kennedy Ave. and Verilife Cincinnati dispensary at 5431 Ridge Ave.
• Hartwell: Zen Leaf Cincinnati at 8420 Vine St.
• Lebanon: About Wellness Ohio at 1525 Genntown Drive.
• Monroe: Strawberry Fields at 300 N. Main St.
• St. Clair Township: Bloom Medicinals at 403 S. Main St.