The Ohio Cannabis Health & Business Summit hosted its fifth annual event at Cleveland’s IX Center on Oct. 3-4.

The two-day event provided education and networking opportunities for thousands of cannabis consumers, medical patients and industry professionals alike. This year’s event featured more than 70 speakers, 150 exhibitors and about 5,000 attendees, according to OCHBS founder and CEO Lenny Berry.

No matter their title, seemingly all OCHBS attendees agreed on one thing: Pre-rolled joints have been a huge hit since the Ohio Department of Cannabis Control in August revised its guidance to allow sales.

“They’ve done that really, really well,” said Alisha Batac, senior marketing manager at King City Gardens based in Cincinnati. “I think that’s what we’ve all been waiting for, so we’re really happy about that. It’s been in high demand. When we’re competing against other markets in other states, that was the one thing we didn’t have.”

When recreational sales first launched, pre-rolls were excluded from product offerings such as flower, vapes, gummies and more. However, one year later the DCC reversed course and allowed cannabis operators to sell pre-rolls once they met specific requirements.

Spenser Nikitin, team training manager at Akron-based Klutch Cannabis, said he appreciates the DCC’s willingness to adjust regulations as the industry matures.

“Pre-rolls is a perfect example,” Nikitin said. “Finally, they’re here and people have been waiting for that. It’s such a great product for people that don’t have that option to roll up themselves.

“It’s been a growing experience, but I think we’re at a really good point. All of the things that people are wanting with the recreational market are happening, it’s just taking time,” he added.

There’s one simple reason that pre-rolls have been popular among Ohio’s cannabis consumers: They’re convenient.

For cannabis producers, however, that’s not quite the case.

“Early results are they’re flying off the shelves,” said Jared Maloof, CEO at Standard Wellness, which operates in Ohio, Maryland, Missouri and Utah.

But for operators, “it’s actually more of a complication because “it’s another form factor,” Maloof said, meaning there are more regulations and guidelines to follow to get approval to sell another product.

“But ultimately, it leads to a more robust marketplace,” he added.

Slow but steady growth

When adult-use sales first launched in Ohio last year, dispensaries weren’t exactly overwhelmed by consumers with foot traffic and sales. However, the industry has steadily grown, surpassing more than $700 million in recreational sales in the program’s year, according to DCC. Ohio benefited from those sales by collecting more than $62.4 million via a 10% tax applied to all recreational cannabis sales.

Fourteen months into its legal recreational cannabis market, Ohio now boasts 170 licensed dispensaries, 37 cultivators and eight testing laboratories, according to DCC.

“Adult-use was turned on, and it took a few months for the industry to understand that it’s now an active market,” said Daniel Kessler, CEO at Riviera Creek, a cultivator based in Youngstown. “Additional stores began opening and as we’ve seen that, we’ve seen some nice growth.

“The industry doesn’t really have an ability to market or advertise directly to the public, and because of that, I don’t know that people understood that ‘Oh, it’s now legal, I can go to the dispensary and buy.’ I think it just took a while for them to understand that’s a reality,” he added.

Ohio’s eight licensed testing laboratories also play an important role in the market’s growth by providing safe, reliable products for the state’s cannabis consumers.

“We believe in high testing because we want quality product on the market,” said Brian Kessler, chairman of the board at Riviera Creek. “I don’t want loose testing because we don’t want people getting hurt.

“The fact that we have great testing controls over the product … all of that is wonderful stuff,” he added.

OCHBS relocating

While this year’s OCHBS proved popular once again, it marked the event’s final edition in Cleveland – for now. With the uncertain future of the IX Center, OCHBS will relocate to Columbus in 2026, marking the first time the event will be held outside of Cleveland.

Berry, a Cleveland native, founded OCHBS in 2019 and hosted the first event that year at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Independence, Ohio. OCHBS was sidelined in 2020 and 2021 largely due to COVID-19, but returned in 2022 at the IX Center, where it has now been hosted four times.

Next year, however, OCHBS will be held Sept. 23-24 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Exhibitors have already expressed excitement about the event relocating to Columbus next year, according to Dameon Winlock, executive sales associate at OCHBS.

“Exhibitors say they always have a really good turnout,” Winlock said. “A lot of them are already talking about how they’re coming to Columbus, and those from Columbus are excited because they don’t have to travel as far.

“If you want to network and get educated (on cannabis), this is the place to be,” he added.