According to the Sandusky Register, Huron city council approved a mutual settlement to end a lawsuit over a medical marijuana dispensary location.
Firelands Scientific, formerly known as Ohio Patients' Choice (OPC), had planned to open its dispensary in an abandoned Burger King on Cleveland Road; the location was provisionally approved by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy and the city of Huron back in 2017.
The community, however, objected to the original location of the dispensary due to the proximity of Woodlands Intermediate School. In response to the complaints made by the community, the Council voted to effectively outlaw the dispensary with a resolution prohibiting a dispensary within 1,000 feet of a school, playground, library, or church; this was an extension of the already existing regulation prohibiting dispensaries from within 500 feet of such locations.
Firelands willingly began the search for another site within the city, eventually deciding to build out the dispensary next to its cultivation and processing "campus". Due to the regulations concerning relocation of a dispensary location prior to being operational for a full calendar year Firelands was required to receive approval from the OBP to relocate the dispensary location, however, the board never signed off on the new location.
This is what led to the lawsuit by Firelands as they watched The Forest open in Sandusky and Terrasana open in Fremont while waiting for approval for its new dispensary location.
Now, it looks as though the lawsuit has been settled as - at the last Huron City Council meeting - the settlement was approved by a vote of 6-1. The settlement allows Firelands to open the dispensary within their corporate campus. Cassie Neiden, Firelands' communication and marketing director, told the Sandusky Register:
We are extremely pleased with this resolution. Now that we have a settlement on a retail location, we can start the work to build a facility that paves the way for patients to access legal cannabis medicine, which will help Ohioans who suffer from a host of severe medical conditions — such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and PTSD, to name a few”
Neiden further expanded, "We a take great pride in the fact we are a Huron-based company - and are able to contribute to our local economy while also addressing the needs of patients throughout the state of Ohio...And we were happy to move to the Huron Corporate Park when the community voiced concern. This legal action by Firelands Scientific was purely a next step in the pursuit of a resolution, which provided an opportunity for additional dialogue between the parties involved."
Firelands has been working within the Huron community since the cultivation facility was provisionally approved back in August of 2018, and even before. Firelands takes tremendous pride that they have been able to create more than 75 jobs to date, with more than 30% of all Firelands employees being Huron and/or Erie County residents.
Furthermore, Firelands has provided tours to the school board, various city council members and other local organizations so that they can experience firsthand the sophistication of Firelands' operations and the standards that they have put in place to ensure the safety and quality of products - as well as Firelands's commitment to the environment!
Outside of the facility itself, Firelands has engaged with the community on a number of different initiatives. Most recently, Firelands has teamed up with Project Noelle - a local nonprofit whose mission is to help innocent children who've been negatively impacted by the opioid crisis - to donate gifts to children of all ages during the holidays. Furthermore, employees at Firelands' have also volunteered for the Erie County Dog Warden, walking dogs in need of forever homes in the afternoon.
"To sum up, the retail location is our next step in our mission to Uplift Others," Neiden described. "This settlement, and the opening of Firelands Scientific's dispensary, will be an opportunity to add even more job creation and continue positive impacts in our community - in addition to the significant benefits the dispensary will bring to patients."
There is no timeline just yet on the opening of Firelands' dispensary at their corporate campus located in Huron. The dispensary will be a separate facility from Firelands' already existing cultivation and processing facility. With the locations being so close, you can certainly expect to find Firelands Scientific's products at this dispensary location once it opens, in addition to the many other cultivators and processors currently creating medical cannabis products for Ohio's Medical Marijuana Control Program.
Firelands Scientific's medical cannabis product inventory currently includes:
Flower available in THC-rich, Mixed Ratio (THC/CBD), and CBD-rich options
Tinctures available in THC-rich, Mixed Ratio (THC/CBD), and CBD-rich options
Edibles available in THC-rich, Mixed Ratio (THC/CBD), and CBD-rich options
Solventless Concentrate available in THC-rich
Cannabis Oil Vape Cartridge available in THC-rich and Mixed Ratio (THC/CBD) options
Cannabis Oil Syringe available in THC-rich and Mixed Ratio (THC/CBD) options
THC-rich means that 75% or more of total cannabinoids are THC (4:1 and higher). These products are dominant in delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
Mixed Ratio means that THC and CBD are balanced in close range. Firelands most often offer these products as a 1:1 formulation, although Firelands does offer a 15:1 (CBD/THC) tincture option
CBD-rich means that 75% or more of total cannabinoids are CBD (1:4 and higher). These products are dominant in cannabidiol, or CBD. (Note CBD Rich products may still contain THC.)
To learn more about Firelands Scientific, you can visit their website. Additionally, we also have created Patient Resource pages for both Firelands Scientific's cultivation and processing facility as well as the upcoming dispensary.
If you are an Ohioan suffering from one of these 21 medical conditions you may be eligible to treat your ailment with medical marijuana, which includes both THC and CBD products.
Click here to learn more about what Ohio Marijuana Card's state-certified medical marijuana doctors can do for you, or give us a call at (866-457-5559) and our friendly support team can walk you through the entire process, and set you up with an appointment.