Cannabis firm upgrading Findlay building

FINDLAY — A cannabis dispensary obtained a permit this week to make $600,000 in renovations to a West Main Cross Street building to set up shop. Trulieve won Findlay City Planning Commission approval in June of its plans to convert 1501 W. Main Cross, formerly Guaranteed Auto Dealer, to a cannabis dispensary. The site is west of Interstate 75 and east of Pilgrim Restaurant. Representatives of Trulieve and another business planning to open a dispensary at 2205 Tiffin Avenue, across the street from Meijer, assured city planners their buildings would be fairly sterile in design. Their clients will use cannabis for recreational and/or medical purposes. The product will be sealed and stored in a ventilated vault, so there will be nearly no odor, the companies said. Customers would not be able to touch any product until they purchased it, they said. Consumption of product on site is prohibited, said representatives of Trulieve and Curaleaf. "Our facilities are treated and designed more like a medical facility," one Trulieve official told the planning commission. People must be at least 21 years old to enter its sales floor, Trulieve's representatives said. It has security cameras operating 24/7 inside and outside its store. No loitering is permitted before or after transactions. About 40% of cannabis transactions in Ohio are online, a Trulieve official said. When that online transaction occurs with Trulieve, the client is given a specific time to show up at the dispensary. "That somewhat moderates traffic at any of the dispensaries," he said.