A medical marijuana cultivation center is opening in Meigs County
The growth of medical marijuana is coming to Southeast Ohio. What does that mean?
[dropcap txtcolor="#234a83" style="dropcap1"]A[/dropcap] medical marijuana growing operation plans to open in Meigs County before September 2018 if all goes according to plan. The Vienna, West Virginia based company, Agri-Med Ohio LLC, is operated by CEO William Armstrong and COO Chris Campbell.Langsville, Ohio is the company’s proposed site of operation.These cultivation centers are opening up across Ohio in order to be in compliance with September 2016’s HB 523, which requires Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program is fully operation no later than September 2018 to ensure the public safety and product quality.[AdSense-A]Eleven companies received Level 1 cultivation licenses, which allow for 25,000 square feet of land for the purpose of medical marijuana cultivation. A list of companies receiving Level 1 and 2 licenses can be found here.Agri-Med Ohio LCC received a Level 2 cultivation license from The Ohio Department of Commerce. Level 2 status allows cultivators no more than 3,000 square feet space for medical marijuana cultivation. A total of twelve companies received a Level 2 status. Black Elk, LCC, an Ohio-based company, applied for a Level 1 cultivation license to open up a cultivation site in Athens County. The Ohio Department of Commerce denied the business a cultivation license. In an interview with The Athens News, Black Elk cofounder Chris Vince stated that he was disappointed in the Department of Commerce’s choice, citing that most of the companies that received cultivation licenses are based out-of-state.Earlier this year, Black Elk Biotech, a subsidiary of Black Elk, LCC, awarded Ohio U a $1.85 million contract to research the therapeutic properties of natural products—including cannabis—as well as their effectiveness in treatment for various medical conditions. It remains to be seen how the Department of Commerce’s decision to deny Black Elk, LCC a medical marijuana cultivation license will affect the research agreement between Ohio University’s Edison Biotechnology Institute and Black Elk Biotech.The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy was tasked with determining the locations of 60 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state. The Board of Pharmacy divided Ohio into four regions (Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast) and 31 different districts.Notably, Southeast Ohio District 6, which includes Athens, Meigs and Vinton counties, will only have one dispensary. Nine companies submitted an application for the license.
