It has taken much longer than originally anticipated to get Ohio's medical marijuana industry off the ground, but now that most of the major legal and logistical hurdles have been jumped, we are starting to see progress in the industry. And we've got some exciting news today about a Columbus marijuana business that has broken ground in Johnstown, Ohio on a brand-new cannabis processing facility.
This facility, owned by Ohio Grown Therapies, is used to process raw cannabis into oils, tinctures, creams, tonics and more. These products vary in potency and strain, allowing medical marijuana Ohio patients to choose which formulas best match their needs.
Ohio Grown Therapies C.E.O. Andy Joseph plans on adding this new processing facility to their cultivation plant and dispensary services, with hopes of having processed products like vape pens available in Buckeye State dispensaries by April 2019.
"We're excited to bring this to the village of Johnstown," Joseph told Newark Advocate. "Since 2015, when we started building this building, we started having the marijuana conversation, and how we can help patients in the state of Ohio. We're finally here at the point we're going to do it. It gives me goose bumps."
Cultivators have been growing for 2-3 months and are now harvesting their buds. Dispensaries are set to begin opening December 2018, with the rest of the stores opening throughout 2019. Marijuana bud or flower (to be used for vaping, per Ohio law) will likely be the first readily available product in most dispensaries as processing facilities catch up with cultivators.
Check out News5Cleveland's inside peak at the facility owned by Ohio Grown Therapies:
What is marijuana processing?
Medical marijuana processing is one of the more confusing terms out there in the cannabis industry. Most casual mmj patients do not know the whole process that marijuana goes through before it can be sold in stores, especially for those who only know of smoking the plant. But marijuana that is grown in cultivation facilities undergoes a rather strenuous series of tests in order to ensure purity and potency for the user.
Quite naturally, marijuana is first grown by cultivators. At current there are around 26 cultivators, large and small scale, approved to grow medical marijuana throughout Ohio, and many have already started harvesting, too. After marijuana has flowered, and reached its peak potency, it is harvested and dried, which cures the marijuana, making it ready to be consumed.
Afterward, marijuana is then tested for purity by licensed medical marijuana testers, like the facility at Hocking Technical College. They make sure that the cannabis has set values for its active compounds, like THC and CBD. They also test to make sure the plant material meets safe standards and isn't loaded with toxic pesticides that could have been used while growing.
Any cannabis that is going to be processed to create tinctures, edibles or creams must be sent to a marijuana processing facility, where the plant material is converted into oils, powders and other forms. Many of these techniques require industrial equipment, like Apeks Supercritical, a specialized extraction machine.
This machine uses focused carbon dioxide (CO2) to extract oils from the raw cannabis plant material, ensuring the highest quality and best potency, without dangerous added chemicals being added to the mix.
Processors also package up this marijuana for sale. What this means to the patient is that any gummy they may eat, or cream they may apply to an affected area, went through a marijuana processor after the raw plant material was harvested by a cultivator.
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 1-866-457-5559 and our friendly support team can walk you through the entire process, and set you up with an appointment.
Also, we have recently partnered with an apparel line to bring Ohioans some cool new merchandise to help celebrate Ohio legalizing medical marijuana. Be sure to check out the awesome shirts our graphic designers have crafted with OhioMarijuanaStore.com. Order today and save 30%!
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