Ohio's first legal 4/20 makes $3 million difference for cannabis market

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Sunday marked Ohio's first "4/20" with legal recreational marijuana sales, and sales data shows Ohioans wanted to celebrate.

April 20, or 4/20, is the unofficial marijuana holiday celebrating cannabis use. Although Ohio voters legalized marijuana in the November 2023 election, dual-use dispensaries were first permitted to open on Aug. 6, 2024, making last Sunday the first 4/20 where sales could be affected. Ohio dispensaries and state sales data indicate the holiday was a boom for the cannabis market.

According to state data, the week leading up to April 20 saw a significant increase in cannabis sales. Ohio's Division of Cannabis Control has published marijuana sales data through April 19, offering insight into market trends in the days before the unofficial cannabis holiday. See previous coverage of Ohio's first 4/20 with recreational sales in the video player above.

In the six weeks before the week of 4/20, Ohio averaged 262,333 transactions each week and $19,773,552 in weekly sales. The week of 4/20, sales were more than 30,000 receipts and $3 million higher than average.

There was also a large, albeit expected, increase from 4/20 sales in previous years. In 2024, the week of 4/20 brought nearly $11 million in sales, half of this year's profit. Last year's unofficial holiday had around 109,000 transactions, just one-third of the number of sales this year. Although there was still an increase in sales for the week of April 20, 2024, the difference was much smaller from other weeks of medical sales.

Buckeye Relief, an Ohio-owned and operated cannabis cultivator, sells products in more than 15 dispensaries in Columbus alone. Buckeye Relief spokesperson Brandon Leslie said the company does not release specific numbers, but confirmed they had increased foot traffic Thursday through Sunday last week with 4/20.

Curaleaf, a national dispensary with locations in Newark and Cuyahoga Falls, shared its top product sales from 4/20 with NBC4. It's top products were all flower, which refers to dried cannabis plants customers can finely grind at home to smoke, according to Curaleaf. Curaleaf also provided details about how much marijuana products contained, as well as which variety they fall under.

According to Curaleaf, indica is historically associated with relaxation and calm, where sativa is associated with an uplifting, energizing effect. A hybrid product mixes both indica and sativa genetics. However, Curaleaf said it's important to note these are generalizations without enough clinical evidence to definitively characterize the strains, and marijuana will impact everyone differently.

In Ohio, Curaleaf's top sellers included both species of cannabis, with two hybrid, two indica and one sativa product in the top five. Nationally, sativa was not a top seller; there were three hybrid and two indica products in Curaleaf's national top 4/20 product sales.

Ohioans also bought products in larger quantities when compared to national trends. All five top-selling products for Curaleaf's national sales were 3.5 gram products. However, four of five top Ohio products were sold in 14.15 gram quantities. The fifth was still 5.66 grams, a larger quantity than national trends.

Fittingly, the week leading up to 4/20 also ushered in a new milestone for the Ohio cannabis market. As of April 19, Ohio has tallied more than 25 million receipts from cannabis purchases, more than six million of which are from recreational purchases within the last nine months.