Zen Leaf begins sales through Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program.

CANTON Zen Leaf is now the city's second cannabis dispensary to open.

Located in the Stein Industrial Park at 1851 Steinway Boulevard SE, the facility quietly opened its doors Wednesday and hosted a grand opening Friday. It's owned by Mother Knows Best and received a certificate of operation from the Ohio Board of Pharmacy earlier this month.

General Manager Chad Westfall compared the dispensary to a telecommunications provider offering a variety of phone styles and brands in one store.

"That is essentially what we're going to be here," he said.

The owners also have provisional licenses for cannabis cultivation and processing under the Mother Grows Best LLC. Neither operation has received the state's final approval needed to open.

Westfall said those certificates should be obtained soon. The three are separate legal entities and will operate independently.

Mother Knows Best has a management agreement with Zen Leaf, a nationally recognized brand, Westfall said.

A disabled U.S. Navy veteran, Westfall also is a medical cannabis patient who wants to provide a better experience.

"Being a patient and seeing all these openings, it's not been easy, smooth, convenient at all, at any one that I've been to," he said.

Zen Leaf's entrance leads to a front desk and lobby with pamphlets about holistic services in the area. Patients registered with the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program will present identification and complete intake paperwork, which also can be submitted in advance at zenleafoh.com.

David Spreckman, director of retail marketing, said he believes Zen Leaf might be the only dispensary in Ohio accepting online form submissions.

"It ultimately creates shorter wait times, more efficiencies in a patient's visit, which we take very seriously," he said.

A patient care advocate will learn more about the patient's needs and experience with cannabis in a consultation room off the lobby.

"Based on what we're hearing from a patient, we'll start them to direct them toward products that we think are best suited to provide relief," Spreckman said.

Zen Leaf's 10-person staff includes an on-call pharmacist and patient outreach coordinator. Employees use iPads to check-in people and submit orders to help expedite the process, Spreckman and Westfall said.

If someone without a state card doesn't know where to start, they'll help educate them.

"We want to help you through the process," Spreckman said.

Like other dispensaries, Zen Leaf accepts cash only and has an ATM on site. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Westfall said he hopes to establish a loyalty points program that would have a company match for donations to local charities.

Canton's other dispensary, The Botanist, opened in January at 3840 Greentree Ave. SW. The state investigated several license holders earlier this year and recently settled a dispute with the dispensary owners, Greenleaf Apothecaries.

Greenleaf branded its five dispensaries under The Botanist name, which belongs to Acreage Holdings. The Ohio Board of Pharmacy accused Greenleaf of agreeing to sell ownership to Acreage before state law permits — at least a year after opening.

Greenleaf owners believed their actions were lawful at the time, according to reports in The Columbus Dispatch. They agreed to pay a $300,000 fine and return $3 million to Acreage Holdings to resolve the dispute.

Kate Nelson, Greenleaf's chief operating officer, stated in an email that the agreement will not change anything at the Canton dispensary.

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy reported that 40,571 patients had purchased medical cannabis between January, when dispensaries opened, and September. Sales through the first week of October totaled $31.7 million and included 3,810 pounds of plant material and 114,345 units of manufactured products.

Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @kbyerREP