CINCINNATI —On a list of people and companies interested in running a medical marijuana dispensary in Hamilton County, one man’s name stands out.
“I saw this as a great opportunity,” the Rev. Damon Lynch III said. “I think medical marijuana is important.”
Many people in Greater Cincinnati know Lynch as a pastor and an activist for social justice. Now, he’d like to add the title of operator of a dispensary that sells pot for medical purposes.
“If it can help some of the ailments – ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), cancer, Parkinson’s (disease), HIV/AIDS – I think it’s time that the state of Ohio steps in,” Lynch said. “So I saw it as an opportunity to provide that medical service.”
Lynch’s Green RX LLC is one of 17 businesses competing to run one of three licensed dispensaries in Hamilton County.
“The application process was tough,” Lynch said. “We have a good team, though. We have a doctor. We have a pharmacist on our team. We have business people. We have moms on our team. So we have a good, local team.”
The companies approved by the state are expected to be up and running by next September. The state has not yet released physical addresses for proposed dispensaries.
“I don’t want to say where right now,” Lynch said of his proposed dispensary. “That was a tough part of the process, but we think it’s going to be a friendly, welcoming place. We have enough space. You know, part of the application is it had to be large enough. It had to be secure.”
Now that the deadline to submit applications has come and gone, Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy is starting to review 370 requests to sell medical marijuana to see which companies will operate 60 dispensaries statewide.
In the district that includes Clermont County and Warren County, seven companies are competing to run one dispensary. In Butler County’s district, 11 companies are vying for a chance to run two dispensaries.
“It’s under the pharmacy board,” Lynch said. “These will be patients. This is not marijuana that you go around smoking. This is, you know, patches and oils and tinctures, and you can vape it. But it’s for medical issues.”
Like other applicants, Lynch paid a $5,000 fee. The application fees alone have already netted the state more than $1.8 million.
Companies that are awarded licenses will pay a $70,000 licensing fee for two years.
credit:wlwt.com