State probe appears to be why Athens medical pot outlet still hasn't opened

One of the enduring mysteries over this past year in Athens has been why the medical marijuana dispensary – called Harvest – on West Union Street in Athens has yet to open for business despite a company spokesperson suggesting in late 2018 that the business would open as early as January 2019.

It turns out that the Ohio Board of Pharmacy has been investigating the company behind the dispensary, Harvest of Ohio LLC, on allegations of fraud and misrepresentation, according to documents obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer as reported in a July 10 article, which means the business hasn't been granted its license to operate yet.

As it stands now, residents of Athens County with medical-marijuana cards must travel to out-of-county dispensaries. The closest is in Jackson, around a 35-40 minute drive and Grandview Heights (Columbus) around an hour and 20 minutes.

Some 20 dispensaries are currently active in Ohio according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control website, with many more having provisional licenses but awaiting their certificates of operation.

Read more: https://www.athensnews.com/news/local/state-probe-appears-to-be-why-athens-medical-pot-outlet/article_9e348ba0-af07-11e9-9480-73a876a71db1.html