As Ohioans purchased recreational marijuana legally in the state for the first time last week, some customers were turned away because they presented credit cards and didn’t have cash.
The dispensaries each had ATMs inside for people who didn’t bring enough cash. However, some customers chose to leave the retailers empty-handed – either because they didn’t have the cash in their accounts, or because they didn’t want to pay the ATM fees.
This is one learning curve Ohioans are experiencing – that they need green to buy a little green – in the early days since recreational marijuana sales began.
Cash – and at some dispensaries, some debit cards – are the only accepted forms of payment at dispensaries. Visa, Mastercard and other forms of plastic are not accepted. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, so out-of-state banks cannot back a dispensary transaction.
Many buyers – recreational marijuana is only available for people aged 21 and older – also are adjusting to sticker shock in these first days of sales.
Prices on Monday on IHeartJane.com and WeedMaps.com, websites to which many dispensaries upload their menus, showed the price of an ounce of flower in the Cleveland area going from around $300 to $540. Prices have increased since last Thursday, when they ranged from $290 to $420 per ounce.
[Read more at cleveland.com]