Verdant Creations opens medical marijuana dispensary in Newark

NEWARK – Licking County residents no longer need to travel to Coshocton or Columbus to get their medical marijuana.

Verdant Creations, which planned to open on May 1, finally opened Tuesday at 1546 W. Church St., next to Maximum Fitness. It is the first medical marijuana dispensary to open in Newark. Two others on North 21st Street await their openings.

Corey Poches, Verdant Creations managing partner, explained the delay in opening.

"There's a lot going on and everybody is learning together," Poches said. "We were just awaiting final inspection. The state was verifying several different aspects and it took a while to go through that, working through all the details."

There were 13 medical marijuana dispensaries open in the state on March 28, including one each in Columbus and Coshocton. There are now 42 dispensaries with active operating licenses of the 56 which received provisional licenses, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce's Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program.

The other Newark dispensaries which have not yet opened are Ohio Grown Therapies, 1246 N. 21st St., and WGB,1150 N. 21st St.

Poches said there was a steady flow of customers Tuesday morning after the business opened at 10 a.m.

"They're excited to have a local option," Poches said. "We're glad to be finally serving Newark and surrounding areas."

Patients enter the facility into a general waiting room, where they check in, show identification and a medical marijuana card, and fill out new patient paperwork. They will then be permitted past a locked door for a quick consultation with a patient care specialist and to view available products.

"We’re excited to open our doors and provide patients in Newark with an alternative form of pain relief," Poches said. "Our knowledgeable staff and trained counselors will help guide patients in their choice of strain and delivery method to most appropriately treat their symptoms."

Patients with one of 21 qualifying medical conditions can buy and use medical marijuana after registering through a certified marijuana doctor in Ohio. Approved patients must confirm their recommendation from a certified doctor within the state registry and bring a state-issued identification card and their registry bar code to enter the dispensary.

Verdant Creations offers pharmaceutical-grade medical marijuana for approved patients, who will have access to various products, including flowers, edibles, vape pens/cartridges, oral sprays, pills and transdermal patches. Patients can also purchase pre-packaged 2.83-gram drams of dried flower product used for vaporization.

Poches works at the Verdant Creations corporate office in Westerville. Tarrisa King is the manager of the Newark store, which will have 10 to 15 employees.

Verdant Creations, based in Westerville, has five medical marijuana locations. Its Columbus site opened last week, to be followed by Marion on Friday, Cincinnati next week and Chillicothe in a few weeks.

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8545

Twitter: @kmallett1958

Verdant Creations

Address: 1546 W. Church St., Newark

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.