Marijuana festival planned for Ohio banking on recreational sale approval
View a Yellow Springs growing facility’s inaugural crop of recreational marijuana in the video player above.
POMEROY, Ohio (WCMH) — A marijuana festival in Meigs County has boldly made plans to host recreational sales ahead of state legislators launching a process to legally do so.
The Stargazer Cannabis Festival has been announced for the weekend of July 26 through 28 at the Wisteria Event Center between Athens and Pomeroy. Each day offers a different array of activities against a backdrop of nature trails, including a drum circle and bonfire, a joint rolling contest and a coffee and music networking event. The Stargazer website also hints at “several national acts” to expect, but has not announced the lineup as of Friday. Attendees can pay $80 per person to camp, $130 to camp by their car or $180 to camp with an RV.
Notable, however, is the farmers market intended to run all three days of the festival. A video of marijuana plants plays on Stargazer’s website, with advertising for baked goods, seeds, flowers, seedlings and “all your favorite cannabis products and supplies” for sale. While seeds are legal even at the federal level to purchase with Ohio’s recreational marijuana law in effect, the state has yet to authorize any vendor that can sell sprouted plants or products for consumption. As of Friday, the only defined way to legally acquire recreational marijuana is if Ohio’s residents grow up to six plants themselves.
Stargazer’s organizers aren’t alone in making recreational plans, as other cannabis industry players are eager to start business. On the growing side, Cresco Labs in Yellow Springs has already planted its inaugural crop of marijuana intended for recreational sales. And medical marijuana shops like Sunnyside in Chillicothe have already signaled intent to apply to become a dual-use dispensary.
All of this motion on the recreational front has come after a lawmakers’ committee hinted that sales could start faster than anticipated. The Division of Cannabis Control proposed the state’s medical dispensaries could apply to also sell recreationally, with licenses going out by September 7. But when lawmakers approved the DCC’s plan, they went a step further, telling reporters that licenses authorizing sales to start could arrive sooner.
“I think we will see that by mid-June,” said Republican Rep. Jamie Callender, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. “I’m hoping that’s the case.”
Stargazer’s organizers — who baked a grace period for legalized sales into festival dates announced for the end of July — did not respond to requests from NBC4 for comment. Business records from the Ohio Secretary of State tie Stargazer Cannabis Festival to Stargazer LLP, whose address points to a house in Portsmouth. The business’s registrant, Chad Thompson, is also affiliated with the Sensible Movement Coalition.
Ticket sales and vendor registration have already begun on the festival website. Vendors must pay $300 to register, or $500 if they are bringing a food truck. Both sales groups also get two general admission tickets.
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