WAPAKONETA — A medical marijuana dispensary in Wapakoneta is one step closer to becoming a reality, as the company applying for a provisional license, Eagle Dispensaries, was approved for the site at 502 N. Dixie Highway.
Ohio rewarded 56 provisional dispensary licenses Monday out of the potential 60 licenses planned for the state. The state had received 376 applications in total. Three dispensary districts — two in northwest Ohio and one in southwest Ohio — failed to receive any approved applications.
Allen County sits within Northwest District 5 together with Auglaize and Putnam counties. Due to limitations in the number of dispensaries set by the state, the district can only receive a single dispensary. Since Eagle Dispensaries was approved in Auglaize County, no other medical marijuana dispensaries can be located within Allen or Putnam counties unless the number of dispensaries is expanded.
As of now, the second closest dispensary to Lima that received a provisional license is located in Marion followed closely by the two dispensaries located within Toledo’s district.
Ohio’s medical marijuana bill allows dispensaries to begin to set up shop in September. From that point, dispensaries are expected to complete a successful on-site inspection by Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy Agents to receive a certificate of operation within six months.
Eagle Dispensaries applied for five dispensaries in total, but it only was approved for Wapakoneta’s location.
According to the Eagle Dispensaries business plan, James Kaufman of Phoenix, Arizona owns the entity. He currently owns four Arizona medical marijuana operating dispensaries as well as holdings of over 250,000 square feet of shopping center space in Phoenix and Show Low, Arizona.
Other individuals listed as employees or consultants include Phil Gordan, a former mayor of Phoenix, and Helen B. Trop-Zell, one of the first medical doctors in Arizona to write medical marijuana recommendations.
Major details concerning the dispensary’s layout and security measures have been redacted by state officials, but the application does give details that a security guard will be at the facility during all hours of operation.
The 167-page application also lists the educational, safety, security and community goals of the organization in length.
The Lima News, a sister newspaper of the Sidney Daily News, tried to contact Eagle Dispensaries using the phone number listed within the application. The company did not respond by press time.
