Ohioans will likely be able to buy recreational marijuana as soon as mid-June, earlier than the timeline outlined by the initiated statute they voted to pass last fall, and existing medical marijuana dispensaries say they plan to be prepared for the state’s non-medical green light.

The state’s joint committee on agency rule review (JCARR) meets May 13, when it’s scheduled to vote on its first batch of rules from the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Cannabis Control. Among those are rules for the application process medical dispensaries need to go through to get licensed to sell to any of-age customer.

“I’ve been assured they will be reviewed very quickly once they are filled out and returned, and they will be fairly straightforward applications,” said Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord), who chairs the joint committee. “That being the case, we could have recreational sales as early as the second week of June.”

Ohio Cannabis Co. owner Brian Wingfield said a few regulatory snags delayed them from starting medical sales in 2019 by a few weeks.

“I really wish we would have been there on that opening day; it didn’t happen,” Wingfield said in an interview. “I want to be on opening day this time and so we’re working toward that.”