The other Ohio-Michigan rivalry: Weed prices
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It's 4/20, one of the busiest days of the year for marijuana dispensaries, but "celebrating" in Ohio will cost much more than up north.
Why it matters: That's by design. Ohio's recreational marijuana rollout has been a deliberate slow burn, with steady, tightly controlled growth since sales began in August 2024.
- Michigan took the opposite approach in 2018, flooding the market and tanking prices — a gap that's become a constant comparison point for Ohio consumers.
Reality check: Even as growing operations expand and more dispensaries come online, it's unlikely Ohio marijuana will ever be as cheap as Michigan's due to supply and demand.
By the numbers: Michigan has hundreds of large-scale growers and doesn't cap licenses. Ohio has 37 cultivators and is focusing on the expansion of those facilities.
- Michigan allows an unlimited number of dispensaries, currently over 800. Ohio has capped its dispensaries at 400, with just over 200 currently operating.
- And unlike its northern neighbor, Ohio bans marijuana advertisements.
Follow the money: In March, even when factoring in a tank of gas, it was still about $68 cheaper to buy an ounce of flower in Michigan, WCMH-TV calculated.
- For reference, Ohioans can currently legally possess 2.5 ounces total.
Between the lines: Transporting marijuana across state lines has always been illegal under federal law, but people still do it.
- Feeling the pressure, the state recently made it explicitly illegal to possess or consume marijuana purchased outside Ohio or store it in anything but its original packaging.
What they're saying: Michigan is a national outlier, says Jana Hrdinova, administrative director of Ohio State University's Drug Enforcement and Policy Center.
- If Ohio were next to Illinois or on the East Coast, where prices are more similar, consumers might feel differently.
- She characterized Ohio's early rollout as "middle of the road."
The other side: Awarding more licenses than the market can support or distributing them unevenly can "lead to diversion and unintentionally let the illicit market thrive," Ohio Division of Cannabis Control spokesperson Jamie Crawford tells Axios.
What we're watching: Despite restrictions, Ohio's recreational industry still brought in over $836 million in 2025, its first full year of sales.
- Figures will likely be even higher this year, as purchase caps increased midyear and popular prerolls became available in August.
What's next: Ohio continues to approve licenses for existing operators to open additional dispensaries on a "rolling basis," Crawford says.