Ohio’s Legislative Black Caucus is calling on state officials to ensure more representation in the next round of marijuana dispensary licenses handed out.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy is getting ready to accept application requests for 73 more medical marijuana retailers.
Rep. Thomas West is the president of the caucus. He says when Ohio rolled out its medical marijuana program, lawmakers tried to add language in the program to address inequities, and the Supreme Court required an equity study.
“We have every intention on meeting with the governor to talk about this issue and more specifically to see how the state of Ohio can get that equity study that the Supreme Court said we needed to make certain that our language held up,” West said.
West says there are currently 114 dispensary licenses. Only nine are in the hands of minorities. The caucus will hold a meeting with minority businesses across the state of Ohio in early November.
