Ohio’s grow house is set to legalize marijuana after the second issue passes
Cleveland-based Standard Wellness, which operates a grow house in Sandusky County, says it is doubling its operations.
GIBSONBURG, Ohio — Marijuana businesses across Northeast Ohio are already making serious expansion plans now that recreational cannabis is legal with the passage of Issue 2 on Tuesday.
Cleveland-based Standard Wellness, which operates a grow house in Gibsonburg in Sandusky County, told 3News it is doubling its operations.
“We’re really excited that Ohio voters provided a clear mandate,” CEO Jared Malouf said of the second edition.
They currently grow 7,000 marijuana plants, have 150 employees and operate three dispensaries. Now that the second edition has passed, they plan to double all of those numbers by the end of next year, and multiply their revenue by five, Maalouf said. He called this evidence of the size of Ohio’s recreational marijuana industry.
“This means more jobs,” he said. “That means providing more quality products to patients and customers, helping more people, and for the state of Ohio, that means $250 to $400 million in tax revenue to do all kinds of things. That revenue currently goes to Michigan and we’d like to keep that here in Ohio.” “
Malouf also explained why Michigan plays a role in future revenue growth.
“Michigan is a $2.8 billion market,” he said. “We estimate that up to $500 million of this revenue comes from Ohioans who travel north to obtain marijuana.”
Their Gibsonburg facility is about 60,000 square feet, but is only about 90% used at this time. Standard Wellness said that once the second issue passed, they immediately began building out the remaining 10,000 square feet to grow more marijuana.
“It’s huge,” said Michael Wells, vice president of revenue. “Our business currently serves about 160,000 patients, and in the recreational program, we will easily serve five times that. Customers will have better access to medicine and cannabis products throughout the state. We are really excited. As you can see we have our grow rooms here. We will definitely look to expand these Services also serve a larger customer base.”
After they build the current cultivation facility, they plan to build more buildings on the additional land available around it.
Maalouf said that no adult will be able to enter the dispensary until next September to be able to purchase recreational marijuana. At this point, business should skyrocket. Record sales are expected for the fourth quarter of 2024.
3News asked Malouf if he had any concerns about lawmakers threatening to amend or repeal the new law.
“So, the Legislature and the governor can make changes,” Malouf said. They can file a full frank appeal. We don’t expect that. “With a 57% mandate from the people, we believe it would be an unwise decision for anyone to make amendments to this law.”
He intends to confidently move forward with his bold growth plans.
