Axios Columbus

August 26, 2024
🐶 A round of a-paws for Monday! Happy National Dog Day to our furry, four-legged readers.
😬 Today's weather: Hot. Mostly sunny, with high temperatures back in the 90s this week.
Situational awareness: A judge temporarily blocked several Ohio laws on Friday related to abortion, including a mandatory 24-hour waiting period for prospective patients.
- Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost plans to appeal the decision.
Today's newsletter is 629 words — a 2.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Recreational marijuana sales soar in Ohio
Marijuana sales in Ohio have skyrocketed since recreational transactions began two weeks ago.
Why it matters: Sales are expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in state tax revenue and increase business for the 125-plus dispensaries statewide that have already been selling medical marijuana.
- So far, Ohio's sales of recreational marijuana are tracking ahead of sales during the first few weeks of legalization in Michigan (2019) and Illinois (2020).
Catch up quick: Voters approved legalizing recreational sales in November.
- After extensive debate, the state finally began issuing dual-use certificates to businesses this month to sell both medical and recreational marijuana.
By the numbers: From Aug. 6–17, recreational marijuana sales exceeded $22 million.
- Medical sales totaled about $16 million during that period, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control.
- The roughly $38.5 million in combined sales is more than double the $18 million recorded during the same period last year.
Zoom in: Before recreational sales began, Ohio dispensaries averaged $12,740 per day in medical marijuana revenue, according to Headset Data, a firm that tracks cannabis sales across the country.
- During the first three days of recreational sales, dispensaries were averaging $27,300 daily, an increase of 114%.
What they're saying: "Both foot traffic and net sales more than doubled on the first day of recreational sales compared to the average day this year," a representative for Curaleaf, which has a location in Newark, said in a statement.
AYR Wellness, which has locations in Dayton, Woodmere and Goshen, said recreational sales now make up two-thirds of the company's Ohio revenue.
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2. 🎉 All they do is win, win, win
More hardware is coming home to Lower.com Field.
Why it matters: The Crew beat Los Angeles FC 3-1 last night to win their first Leagues Cup.
- The Cup started in 2019 and is an annual summer competition between clubs from the MLS and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico.
Zoom in: Forward Cucho Hernández scored twice and was the game's MVP.
Between the lines: After losing the MLS Cup back in December and suffering an embarrassing 5-1 defeat in July, Los Angeles probably isn't eager to face Columbus again any time soon.
The bottom line: There's still plenty of regular season left, but we can't help but get excited about the possibility of another deep playoff run.


3. 🍲 Columbites: One last Local Matters meal kit
👋 Alissa here, sharing the finished product from my third and final Local Matters meal kit.
Catch up quick: Order kits online, and the nonprofit's bright green Veggie Van will deliver them free of charge within the I-270 outerbelt.
- It's similar to HelloFresh or Home Chef but at a cheaper price: just $10 per meal.
This month's meal: A black bean stir fry full of fresh vegetables — mushrooms, carrots, onions, broccoli, celery and red peppers.
- The black beans come in a preblended paste that's combined with chicken or vegetable stock, garlic and ginger to make the dish's sauce.
💭 My thought bubble: The kit came with brown rice, but I would've preferred serving the stir fry over noodles — for texture and logistical reasons.
- I have little experience cooking brown rice, and unfortunately, it turned out gummy.
- Luckily the dinner wasn't a total disaster because the stir-fried veggies were so flavorful.
Pro tip: The instructions assume you have some kitchen staples on hand, such as garlic and cooking wine, but I had to stop by the grocery store for the latter.
The bottom line: After preparing these three dishes and making a few mistakes, I've learned that even meal kits aren't idiot-proof.
- Yes, but: They're still a fun way to broaden your palate at a bargain price.
- Plus: Packing this many veggies into a single, tasty dinner is downright impressive.
ICYMI: Check out last month's dinner, a Thai coconut soup over rice.

This newsletter was edited by Emma Hurt and Brianna Crane and copy edited by Brad Bonhall.
Our picks:
👋 Tyler is off this week.
🤯 Alissa can't believe it's already the last week of August. How did that happen?
Editor's note: Friday's newsletter was corrected to say Green Columbus (not the City of Columbus) will be giving away trees.
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