(A) For purposes of this rule, the
following definitions apply:
(1) "10(B)
applicant" means any cultivator or dispensary who is eligible pursuant to
division (B) of section 3780.10 of the Revised Code to apply, and submits an
application for, a 10(B) license in accordance with this rule.
(2) "10(B)
license" means a dispensary license issued pursuant to division (B) of
section 3780.10 of the Revised Code and this rule.
(3) "Facility site
location application" means an application for selection of a facility
site for a 10(B) license.
(B) All 10(B) applicants authorized to
apply for 10(B) licensure shall abide by all application requirements outlined
under this rule.
(C) An applicant that fails to abide by
all application requirements may have its application eligibility adjusted, or
its application abandoned, by the division.
(D) Distribution of 10(B) application
materials shall occur on the division's internet website located at
www.com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/cannabis-control.
(1) Any and all updates
and ongoing public notices shall be conspicuously posted on the
divisions internet website.
(2) All 10(B) applicants
have a duty to regularly monitor and review all notices provided on the
divisions internet website throughout the application
process.
(E) Determination of authorized 10(B)
applicants.
(1) Prior to publishing
10(B) application materials, the division shall determine which entities are
authorized to apply for 10(B) licensure.
(a) The division shall notify all authorized entities in
writing of the following:
(i) That the entity is
authorized to apply for 10(B) licensure;
(ii) The total number of 10(B) licenses for which the entity
may apply;
(iii) The number of licenses an entity is authorized to apply
for that are eligible for the phase one site selection process;
and
(iv) The number of licenses an entity is authorized to apply
for which are eligible for the phase two site selection process.
(b) Each entity authorized to apply shall have one 10(B)
license eligible for the phase one site selection process.
Any additional 10(B) licenses issued to the same entity shall
be eligible for the phase two site selection process.
(2) Upon receipt of its
authorization to apply, all eligible 10(B) applicants may submit an initial
application as outlined by paragraph (F) of this rule.
(F) Submission of initial
application
(1) All 10(B) initial
applications shall be completed on a form prescribed by the division that
demonstrates or attests the following:
(a) The applicant's designated point of contact that
shall serve as the main contact for the division for the duration of the
application period.
The following information for the applicant's point of
contact:
(i) Full legal
name;
(ii) Telephone number that may be utilized
during normal business hours;
(iii) Electronic mail
address;
(iv) Mailing address; and
(v) All information provided must be in
working order and readily available to receive voice messages, electronic
messages, or other communication as applicable.
(b) The identity of all of following associated with the
applicant:
(i) All current owners,
officers, and board members;
(ii) All proposed owners,
officers, and board members;
(iii) All institutional
or private investors;
(iv) Any individual with
a financial interest in the applicant; and
(v) Any individual with
significant influence or control over the applicant.
(c) Applicant does not have an ownership or investment
interest in, or compensation arrangement with:
(i) An adult use testing
laboratory licensed pursuant to Chapter 3780. of the Revised Code;
or
(ii) An applicant for a
license to conduct adult use laboratory testing.
(d) Applicant does not share any corporate officers or
employees with:
(i) An adult use testing
laboratory licensed pursuant to Chapter 3780. of the Revised Code;
or
(ii) An applicant for a
license to conduct adult use laboratory testing.
(e) All of the following individuals associated with
applicant do not have a disqualifying offense as defined by rule 1301:18-1-01
of the Administrative Code which would preclude individual
licensure:
(i) Any administrator or
individual responsible for the daily operation of the proposed
facility;
(ii) All owners,
officers, and board members, of the applicant seeking licensure;
and
(iii) All employees and
agents of the proposed facility.
(f) Applicant will not operate within five hundred feet of
a prohibited facility as defined by division (A)(35) of section 3780.01 of the
Revised Code.
(g) Compliance with all applicable tax laws within the
state of Ohio;
(h) Applicant is not contemporaneously employed by a
regulatory agency or governmental entity within the state of Ohio that within
that role may significantly influence or control entities licensed under
chapter 3796. or 3780. of the Revised Code.
(i) Selection of one of the following categories for
licensure:
(i) Dual-use cannabis
dispensary license
(a) For purposes of this
rule, a dual-use license has the same meaning as defined by rule 1301:18-1-01
of the Administrative Code.
(b) Applicants who choose
to apply for a dual-use license shall:
(i) Adhere to all
dual-use licensing requirements for a period of four years.
(ii) Ensure that its
facility equally serves and accommodates medical patients and caregivers and
non-medical consumers alike.
(iii) Ensure ongoing
inventory sufficient to maintain an adequate supply of medical marijuana to
meet the current demand and projected patient and caregiver
population.
(iv) Provide
accommodations to medical cannabis patients and caregivers that may include,
but is not limited to, the following:
(A) Dedicated hours of
operation limited to medical-only patients and caregivers during which
adult-use consumers are prohibited from the facility.
(B) Expanded options for
medical cannabis delivery and online ordering.
(C) Efficient
point-of-sale accommodations that similarly and expeditiously serve medical
patients, caregivers, and adult-use consumers.
(ii) Adult-use only
dispensary license.
An adult-use only dispensary license may engage in all
permissible activities outlined under section 3780.15 of the Revised
Code.
(j) Payment of the non-refundable application fee in the
amount of five-thousand dollars, to be submitted via a method approved by the
division.
(2) Deficiencies in
applications:
(a) Upon determination by the division that a 10(B)
applicant failed to meet all requirements of paragraph (F) of this rule, the
division shall notify the applicant in writing of all deficiencies contained
within the application.
(b) Within ten business days of receipt of written
notification from the division, the applicant shall alleviate all deficiencies
outlined and submit any further documentation requested by the
division.
(c) Should an applicant fail to cure all application
deficiencies, the application shall be deemed abandoned.
(3) The division shall
establish a date and time by which all 10(B) initial applications must be
submitted. Any application submitted to the division after the deadline shall
be ineligible for licensure and returned to the applicant at the mailing
address outlined in the application.
(G) The 10(B) application
drawing.
(1) The division shall
contract with a third-party operator to randomly rank all 10(B)
applications.
(2) 10(B) applicants that
choose to apply for a dual-use license shall have two times the number of
opportunities of selection in the drawing.
(3) Drawing
process.
(a) The third-party operator shall randomly rank all 10(B)
applicants, beginning with one and continuing sequentially.
(b) All 10(B) applicants shall be ranked numerically in the
order in which the application was drawn by the third-party
operator.
(c) The third-party operator shall not have access to any
information, including the initial applications, that would allow the operator
to correlate a 10(B) applicant with its randomly assigned rank.
(H) Facility site selection
process.
(1) After the drawing as
outlined in paragraph (G) of this rule, the division shall proceed with the
facility site selection process.
(2) The site selection
process shall occur in two phases.
(I) Phase one facility site
selection.
(1) Applicants who are
eligible for phase one facility site selection process shall submit their
materials on a form prescribed by the division.
(2) The division shall
establish a date and time by which all phase one facility site selection
applications must be submitted. Should an eligible 10(B) applicant fail to
comply with all requirements of this paragraph, or fail to submit an initial
facility site application that meets all required criteria by the deadline, the
division may modify the applicant's rank or move the applicant into the
phase two site selection process.
(3) Throughout the
facility site selection process, the division shall establish one or more days
to publish to all applicants all phase one facility site business addresses
received and approved by the division up to the date of
publication.
(4) A 10(B) applicant
that is eligible for phase one facility site selection may submit up to three
facility sites per phase one application that shall demonstrate the following
for each facility site:
(a) The business address for the proposed
facility;
(b) The proposed facility site will not be located within
one mile of
(i) An existing licensed
dispensary; or
(ii) The proposed
facility site of another phase one applicant as published under paragraph
(I)(3) of this rule.
(c) The proposed facility site is not located within five
hundred feet of the end boundaries of a parcel of real estate having situated
on it a prohibited facility as defined by division (A)(35) of section 3780.01
of the Revised Code;
(d) The proposed facility site is not subject to any local
ordinances or prohibitions from operation as outlined under section 3780.25 of
the Revised Code;
(e) The proposed facility site meets all zoning or other
local requirements for operation of a dispensary at the proposed facility
site;
(f) If more than one facility site was submitted, the
preferred order of selection; and
(g) Any other information required by the
division.
(5) In the event that
more than one 10(B) applicant submits the same facility site, the applicant
issued the lower rank pursuant to paragraph (G) of this rule, will be required
to select a different facility site and will be authorized to submit a
substitute location site application.
If an applicant is required to select a different facility site
and submitted more than one phase one facility site, the division will
immediately review that applicant's additional facility sites in the order
the applicant selected pursuant to paragraph (I)(4)(a) of this rule.
(6) In the event a
10(B) applicant submits a facility site that is within one mile of another
phase one facility site as published by the division pursuant to paragraph
(I)(3) of this rule, the 10(B) applicant issued the lower rank pursuant
paragraph (G) of this rule, will be required to select a different facility
site and will be authorized to submit a substitute location site application.
If an applicant is required to select a different facility site
and submitted more than one phase one facility site, the division will
immediately review that applicant's additional facility sites in the order
the applicant selected pursuant to paragraph (I)(5)(a) of this rule.
(J) Phase two site
selection.
(1) After the phase one
site selection process, the division will establish and publish regional
districts for the phase two site selection process.
(2) Applicants who are
eligible for the phase two site selection process will submit their preferred
regional districts on a form prescribed by the division.
The division shall establish a date and time by which all
regional preference forms must be submitted. Any phase two applicant who fails
to submit a regional preference form pursuant to this paragraph will have their
preferences determined by the division.
(3) After receipt and
review of the regional preference forms, the division shall notify each phase
two applicant of its assigned regional district for its 10(B) license. The
assigned regional district shall be based upon the
applicant's:
(a) Regional preference form pursuant to paragraph (J)(2)
of this rule; and
(b) Assigned pursuant to the drawing outlined under
paragraph (G) of this rule.
(4) Upon receipt of its
regional district pursuant to paragraph (J)(3) of this rule, phase two
applicants may submit a phase two facility site location application on a form
prescribed by the division.
(5) The facility site
location application for phase two site selection shall demonstrate the
following:
(a) The business address for the proposed
facility;
(b) The proposed facility site will not be located within
one mile of:
(i) An existing licensed
dispensary; or
(ii) The proposed
facility site of another phase two applicant as published under paragraph
(J)(6) of this rule.
(c) The proposed facility site is not located within five
hundred feet of the end boundaries of a parcel of real estate having situated
on it a prohibited facility as defined by division (A)(35) of section 3780.01
of the Revised Code;
(d) The proposed facility site is located within the
regional district assigned to the 10(B) applicant pursuant to paragraph (J)(3)
of this rule.
(e) The proposed facility site is not subject to any local
ordinances or prohibitions from operation as outlined under section 3780.25 of
the Revised Code;
(f) The proposed facility site meets all zoning or other
local requirements for operation of a dispensary at the proposed facility site;
and
(g) Any other information required by the
division.
(6) Throughout the phase
two facility site selection process, the division shall establish one or more
days to publish to all applicants all phase one facility site business
addresses received and approved by the division up to the date of
publication.
(7) In the event that
more than one 10(B) applicant submits the same phase two facility site, the
10(B) applicant issued the lower rank pursuant to paragraph (G) of this rule,
will be required to select a different facility site and will be authorized to
submit a substitute facility site location application.
(8) In the event a 10(B)
applicant submits a facility site that is within one mile of another phase two
facility site as published by the division pursuant to paragraph (J)(6) of this
rule, the 10(B) applicant issued the lower rank pursuant paragraph (G) of this
rule, will be required to select a different facility site and will be
authorized to submit a substitute facility site location
application.
(K) Provisional licenses. After receiving
a facility site location application from a 10(B) applicant and determining
that the applicant has met all requirements for provisional licensure
established in Chapter 3780. of the Revised Code and division 1301:18 of the
Administrative Code, the division shall issue a provisional 10(B) license to
the applicant for the facility site identified in the facility site location
application.
(L) Change of location. The division may
consider a request to change the location of a provisional 10(B) license due to
circumstances outside the control of the applicant.
(1) Circumstances outside
the control of the applicant include, but are not limited to:
(a) Enactment of a local moratorium as outlined under
section 3780.25 of the Revised Code subsequent to the facility site selection
process;
(b) Unilateral revocation by a property owner for use of
the licensed premises of the facility site selected;
(c) Establishment of a prohibited facility as defined by
division (A)(35) of section 3780.01 of the Revised Code within five hundred
feet of the proposed facility site subsequent to the facility site selection
process.
(2) If the division
approves a relocation, the applicant must submit a new facility site for
approval that meets the criteria established in paragraph (I) or (J) of this
rule, as applicable.
(M) Certificate of operation. All 10(B)
licenses must obtain a certificate of operation within twelve months of receipt
of its provisional license.
