The line of customers snaked around the building at Green Leaf Therapy on Bridge Street in Struthers on Tuesday, which was the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in Ohio.

STRUTHERS — Customers lined up around the building at Green Leaf Therapy on Bridge Street in the city on Tuesday, which was the first day for legal recreational marijuana sales in Ohio.

The day was made possible when Ohio voters in November approved the legalization of recreational marijuana with a 57% majority statewide. In Mahoning County, the measure passed with 38,524 votes in favor and 35,723 against. In Trumbull County, it was approved with 33,885 votes for and 30,051 against, according to results from the county boards of elections.

The new law allows adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and to grow plants at home, with a 10% tax on purchases aimed at covering administrative costs and funding social equity programs.

Green Leaf opened in April 2023 as a medical marijuana dispensary. The Ohio Department of Cannabis Control afforded special consideration to recreational sales applications submitted by medical dispensaries. At least some of the patrons were already regular marijuana users, either for medical or recreational purposes.

“I’ve been waiting for this since I was 14, so I had to come down and at least see what it was all about,” said Francis McKinney of Youngstown.

McKinney, 63, a former machinist on the verge of retirement, said using marijuana keeps him relaxed and he finds it agrees with him much more than alcohol.

“It’s better for you than booze, it doesn’t rot your liver,” he said. “People go out, get drunk, get angry, next thing you know, they grab a gun and you got a problem. You smoke a little weed, you relax, and maybe just bug the missus for some potato chips while you watch some TV.”

McKinney said he spent about $65 and $90 each on two half-ounces of cannabis, one a sativa flower product and the other a strain called “shady boof trim.”

He said in his 50 years of smoking marijuana, he has not seen any ill health effects, touting a recent scan of his lungs that came up clean. McKinney said he thinks the business will do well.

“When they see how much tax money this is going to raise, I don’t think they’ll have any objection to this place expanding,” he said.

Nancy Miller of Brookfield shared McKinney’s thoughts about marijuana’s comparative benefits.

“I think it should have been done a long time ago,” she said. “What they should do is take all the alcohol off the shelves.”

Miller said she has had her medical card to use marijuana for pain management for a little over two years because she had to have two steel rods put into her back. Miller said she pre-ordered her edibles through Green Leaf’s website.

For those looking to purchase, come with cash as the store doesn’t accept credit cards.

WARREN DISPENSARY

At gLeaf Medical Cannabis in Warren, employees said lines at times wrapped around the building.

About 215 new customers came out to the location, building on the 319 existing customers they had for medical use, according to Cannabist Company representatives. The Cannabist Company manages various retail operations, while gLeaf focuses on both retail and cultivation.

Nearing her chance to enter after about a half hour wait, Callie Rita, a 33-year-old Niles resident, was excited for the opportunity.

“I wanted to be a part of this historic day of recreation and it finally became purchasable without a medical card,” she said.

Rita has been a cannabis user since she was 18, having grown up in an environment where its usage was normalized.

“It’s been part of my family and part of my culture. I’ve also come to learn about the benefits for the mind and the body, and I wanted to be a part of that,” she said.

Standing nearby, Jared Ward, 28, of McDonald, called the day “amazing,” as he displayed his excitement to be able to do something less dangerous than alcohol.

“I mean you’re able to go to war at 21 so you should be able to do this,” he said.

For about 10 years, Ward has been a cannabis user, beginning as a casual user among friends or at parties, he said.

McDonald recently banned the sale of recreational marijuana in the village.

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