(Marvin Fong/The Plain Dealer)

Hurry up, and wait.

In a time of delays and uncertainties, the only thing that's certain in the local medical marijuana industry is that business owners have invested millions of dollars and are anxious to get started. But for many in this new highly regulated industry, start dates are now predicted for December or early 2019, instead of September as originally thought.

"Are the delays frustrating? Yes," said Dave Neundorfer, CEO of Greenleaf Apothecaries LLC, a Waite Hill firm that received five of the 56 provisional dispensary licenses the Ohio Board of Pharmacy awarded in June.

"What's most frustrating is that there are patients who are qualified and waiting for this type of medicine, and they don't know when they'll have access," Neundorfer said.

Dispensaries, like his, are spread statewide, although most are in Northeast and Central Ohio. Greenleaf locations are in Wickliffe, Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Columbus.

"We're doing everything in our power to be ready as quickly as possible to serve our patients," said Neundorfer, 37, who is also president and CEO of Cleveland-based software company LineStream Technologies.

Greenleaf plans to hire between 50 to 75 employees for the five locations by the end of the first quarter of 2019.

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Luke Batten, grow consultant, trims marijuana leaves inside Buckeye Relief in Eastlake, Ohio. (Marvin Fong/The Plain Dealer)

Many owners say it's hard to put an exact number on how much capital has been invested so far in Ohio's medical marijuana program.

Tom Rosenberger, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association of Ohio, said Ohio business owners and other investors have spent millions for the opportunity to be part of this new fast-growing industry.

"Licensees have already invested tens of millions of dollars into building facilities and getting Ohio's medical marijuana program up and running," Rosenberger said.

"The 13 level I cultivators, 40 processors, 56 dispensaries, and 4+ testing labs will combine to invest over $100 million in Ohio before a single sale is made," he added.

Rosenberger referred to a public document submitted by Cresco Labs to make his point. The Chicago-based company's budget of $11 million for their Yellow Springs, Ohio, operation includes a cultivation facility, a processing facility and a dispensary.

"Extrapolate that out to cover all the licenses in Ohio, and we easily hit the $100 million mark in investment," he said.

"And those numbers don't even include the capital invested in writing applications by applicants who ultimately didn't receive licenses."

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CEO Andrew Rayburn views medical marijuana growing inside Buckeye Relief in Eastlake, Ohio. (Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)

Andrew Rayburn, founder of Big Game Capital, a private investment firm, is another Northeast Ohio business owner who has played a role in spending millions, of his own money, to be part of Ohio's marijuana medical program. A member of the business community for more than 35 years, now he's CEO of the Buckeye Relief team.

Buckeye Relief received the highest score in the state's competitive licensing process. Level I licenses were awarded to only 12 of the 109 teams that applied, and Buckeye Relief was the first to plant cannabis crops in late July. The Eastlake company broke ground on a 60,000 square-foot-facility in December, soon after the licenses were awarded in November.

Rayburn said he's not frustrated by the process. He believes the state did its best to predict a 2018 launch date when Ohio legalized marijuana in 2016.

"I tell people in this crazy industry, we're not frustrated by the timing," he said. "The market is going to come together at the first of the year. The bottom line is that the reason we're all doing this is so that patients can get access to this medicine finally.

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Marcia Pledger

Andrew Rayburn, CEO of Buckeye Relief, a cultivation facility in Eastlake, Ohio

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Haley Hershman, cultivation technician, trims marijuana leaves inside Bucket Relief in Eastlake, OH. (Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)

"There will be an operating market by the first of the year. We will have our first harvest in December and dispensaries will have products by the first of the year," Rayburn said.

So far, the Eastlake company has hired 18 people, with plans to have 30 to 40 employees by the end of the year.

"We're hiring constantly at this point, adding a few people each month primarily in cultivation and sales," Rayburn said.

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(Courtesy of Cresco Labs)

In Southern Ohio, Chicago-based Cresco Labs operates a state-of-the-art grow facility in Yellow Springs. The company offers medical marijuana in six states, making the firm the largest operator in Ohio.

"The state of Ohio has done a great job keeping things moving forward with the launch of this program," CEO Charles Bachtell said in a statement. "It's not only a new program, but still a relatively new industry, and they are being very thorough in making sure everything is done right, which will ultimately benefit the patients."

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This photo of staff members, includes founder Austin Briggs, far left, and Alicia Reaves, (back row wearing glasses) admissions counselor at the school. (Courtesy of Cleveland School of Cannabis)

In June, about 40 people were among the first graduates from the Cleveland School of Cannabis in Independence. The curriculum is broken into three majors: cannabis horticulture, cannabis business and the medical applications of cannabis.Students can also choose to get an executive major, which covers all three.

Alicia Reaves, 40, said the school's four-state approved certificate programs are only the second one in the country that has state approval. Grants are available for minorities and veterans, as well as one dedicated for special needs, called the resilence grant.

Reaves is also co-founder and president of Midwest CannaWomen, a new organization aimed at trying to get more women in the field.

"There’s going to be so many opportunities in this field and there’s a need for more diversity,” Reaves said.

“We’re creating a platform so that women can have entrepreneurship opportunities and employment in the medical marijuana industry. We’re putting together resources and encouraging women to get into the industry.”

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Chris Morris

This is one in an occasional series of stories about the businesses based around medical marijuana in Ohio.

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(Courtesy of Cresco Labs)

Last week, Cresco invited the media to check out its new 50,000-square-foot cultivation facility. The company plans to offer pharmaceutical-grade products in Ohio including flower, edibles, vape pens/cartridges and multiple forms of medication delivery including oral sprays, pills, and transdermal patches. Cresco expects their products to be available to Ohio patients in early January.

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(Courtesy of Cresco Labs)

"We look forward to bringing awareness about this program and to helping eliminate the age-old stigma associated with marijuana ... We want it to just be called medicine," Bachtell said.

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(Courtesy of Randy Shaffer, Ohio Marijuana Card)

Connor Shore, 27, is a president and co-owner of Ohio Marijuana Card, a business that connects people to state-certified doctors prescribing medical marijuana.

Shore said interest is picking up at his Westlake, Mayfield Heights and Akron locations. So far, the company has built six offices in the the state in the past six months. Including signing on 10 doctors, they've hired 32 employees, with plans to hire more in the next few weeks.

"We get about 1,000 people on our website a day," said Shore. "On average we get 500 calls a day, and we're booking between 100 to 200 appointments a day. The no-show rate is high, but we still get a lot of interest."

Already about 3,000 patients have visited Ohio Marijuana Card, he said.

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(Courtesy of Randy Shaffer, Ohio Marijuana Card)

"We are the first step that patients must take to get treatment with medical marijuana. If they want to buy products from dispensaries, they first must be evaluated by a state-certified physician," he said, noting that his business charges $280 for the year.

Ohio Marijuana Card offers payment plans that include $75 for an initial evaluation and $25 a month. Military veterans get a $60 discount.

Ohio patients who could use marijuana for medical purposes are expected to reach 10,000 this year and are forecast to grow to 50,000 by 2019, according to data published by Arcview in partnership with BDS Analytics.

"Some people are tired of waiting for the state and they're taking unnecessary risks by going to Michigan to buy products," he said. "They're crossing state lines and we advise them not to do that until the state establishes a reciprocity agreement. That hasn't happened yet."

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Jeremy Shechter, cultivation technology director at Buckeye Relief, stands next to water tanks used for growing medical marijuana in Eastlake Ohio. (Marvin Fong/The Plain Dealer)

With licensed cultivators only recently planting marijuana, it takes 4 to 6 months for plants to reach maturity, then processed into products.

Three offices share responsibility for Ohio's Medical Marijuana Control Program, the Commerce Department and the state medical and pharmacy boards.

And even though there's nowhere to send patients yet, statewide, nearly 300 physicians have been certified to recommend medical marijuana, including 71 in September, the largest group so far.

At this point, 26 large and small cannabis growers have provisional licenses. Four testing labs, 40 processors and 56 dispensaries are also approved.

Medical cannabis sales are forecast to reach $30 million by year end. The first full calendar year of sales will be in 2019 with the total expected to reach $154 million, growing to $226 million in 2021, BDS analytics show.

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Grove Bags of Cleveland, offers packaging, including this 1-pound capacity bag, to store marijuana. From bags that hold just a couple of grams to those that fit in 55 gallon drums, the two-year-old company is finding cultivator customers all over the world. (Courtesy of Grove Bags)

While many Ohio production businesses are on hold, some ancillary businesses continue to grow, primarily because their focus isn't just in Ohio.

Cleveland-based Grove Bags, a company that makes packaging for marijuana is a fast-growing startup. In May, the company had customers all over the United States and in several countries, but no clients in Ohio. During the summer and early fall, Grove Bags has added 10 Ohio cultivators and processing clients and four new international clients.

Grove Bags has 14 full-time employees, as well as 10 part-time employees, with plans to hire five more full-time employees by the end of the year.

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Grove Bags COO Ryan Carnevale, left, and CEO Jack Grover. (Marvin Fong/The Plain Dealer)

Jack Grover, CEO, said despite what some in the industry consider as chaos and frustration, he believes the state of Ohio's licensing and approval processes was not nearly as bad as a lot of other states.

"We only missed the mark by a few months and that's a good sign about the state's legislative processes," he said.

"There's tremendous movement in the state right now," Grover said. "We're confident in the final outcome in that everything will continue to move forward."

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