‘Can you take me higher?’ The marketing that got six Ohio marijuana dispensaries fined

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio’s government agency over its marijuana industry fined at least six dispensaries over how they advertised around the start of recreational sales.

A rule that the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control repeated in paperwork against the group of shops regarded the rules they were bound to, as they tried to draw in recreational customers before and after Aug. 6. That Tuesday effectively became the launch day for the new type of sales in the state, as select businesses received the certificates they needed to convert their storefronts to dual-use dispensaries.

Six dispensaries were slapped with fines, in some cases breaking over $200,000 as a result. One shop was also hit more than once, according to paperwork NBC4 obtained from the DCC. The documents lay out the agency’s issues with each company. In some cases, even using the term “recreational marijuana” over words like “adult-use” or “nonmedical” saw penalty. Tom Brockman, the deputy chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Commerce and DCC, explained the reasoning.

“All operators are currently operating via medical rules,” Brockman wrote. “As such, they need to seek pre-approval on any advertising, this includes the use of the term ‘recreational marijuana.’ Those particular entities that agreed to civil penalties did not seek pre-approval, and that was the basis of their violation.”

Click on the links below to see the penalty reports for each dispensary, organized by the amount they paid.

The Source

The Source, a shop in South Euclid, was ordered on Sept. 5 to pay $225,000 after the DCC took issue with the dispensary displaying marijuana paraphernalia visible from the outside of the shop. The agency flagged several problems in its report, including that Source allowed vendor tables with grinders, rolling trays and other cannabis accessories outside of the building. The DCC also documented an Aug. 23 ribbon cutting ceremony held outside the dispensary, which it had not received approval for.

The Source was given a monthly payment plan of $18,750, and the DCC expects the company to pay it off within a year. The company waived its right to appeal the decision in an accompanying agreement.

The Botanist

The Botanist, a DBA name for Greenleaf Apothecaries, is a chain with five storefronts in Ohio, including:

• Akron

• Canton

• Cleveland

• Columbus

• Wickliffe

It originally saw a $12,500 fine Aug. 1 for running a website promotion with the unapproved, but memed Creed lyric, "Can you take me higher?" After the Aug. 6 launch of recreational sales, the DCC followed up by taking issue with "unapproved food and beverages from an ice cream truck on the dispensary premises," and marketing for "free ice cream" on social media at the Botanist's shops, racking up another $150,000 in fines.

RISE

GTI Ohio owns the RISE dispensary chain, which operates the following locations:

• Cleveland

• Lakewood East

• Lakewood West

• Lorain

• Toledo

The company mistakenly sent an email to RISE patients on June 6, with the message, "RISE Ohio locations will be open to service recreational and medical guests" beginning June 10. A little over three hours later, GTI Ohio sent a correction email out, telling the same subscribers this was an error.

After learning about the emails, the DCC took issue with not only the false alarm over the start of recreational sales, but also with the word "recreational" itself. The agency opted for them to use the term "adult-use marijuana" instead.

GTI Ohio and the DCC reached an agreement on June 20 over the situation. The dispensary chain didn't have to admit to the DCC's accusations over the email and word choice, but did have to pay a $5,000 fine. GTI Ohio also agreed to cover the costs of the DCC's investigation, which racked up to $12,500.

Guaranteed Investments

Guaranteed Dispensary, owned by Guaranteed Investments, has a location in Montgomery, an eastern suburb of Cincinnati. It also saw a fine handed down July 23, after the DCC discovered that its website advertised it as a "recreational and medical dispensary" in June. The agency said Guaranteed did not receive approval to market their storefront this way ahead of sales launching, and ordered it to pay $12,500.

Standard Farms

Standard Farms is not a dispensary, but rather a medical marijuana processor in Garfield Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. It received its dual-use certificate of operation before storefronts did on Aug. 6. The DCC wrote it discovered July 8 that the company sent emails that it received "dual-use license approval for adult use/recreational sales," and included "some HIGHlights below."

Ironically, in a penalty document signed for the same day recreational sales began in Ohio, the agency wrote Standard Farms did not submit the advertising language for approval before using it. The DCC ordered Standard Farms to pay $12,500 in fines within 14 days.

Bloom

The Division of Cannabis Control punished Bloom, a dispensary in Seven Mile, not over its store or digital promotion, but over a billboard. The sign had text that read "Bloom Medical Marijuana," and the DCC claimed Bloom had not submitted the messaging for approval to the agency.

On July 23, the agency ordered Bloom to pay $12,500 over the issue. It gave the dispensary 14 days to cover the fine.

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