Ohio Medical Marijuana Made Simple

Medical marijuana gets talked about like a controversy, but for a lot of Ohio patients it’s simply a path to relief. We sit down with Zach Reffitt from Ohio Green Relief to unpack what the Ohio medical marijuana card process actually looks like when it’s done virtually: patients upload records online, doctors review eligibility, and the consultation happens through telemedicine so people can get certified without bouncing around offices.

Zach also shares the behind-the-scenes story of building a medical cannabis business in a space full of stigma and misinformation. He went from 18 years in mortgage lending to launching Ohio Green Relief with hands-on, local marketing and a lot of direct conversations. When COVID-19 pushed healthcare toward telehealth and Ohio approved telemedicine for medical marijuana recommendations, his model expanded statewide and reshaped how patients could access care.

We talk candidly about myths and misconceptions, including what medical cannabis may help with, why many patients ask about chronic pain relief and PTSD support, and how options like tinctures, lotions, and patches challenge the stereotype of what “medical marijuana” means. We also get practical about growth: QR-code yard signs, dispensary relationships, referrals powered by trust, and a pricing approach designed to keep the process affordable and human.

If you found this helpful, subscribe so you don’t miss the next local story, share this episode with someone in Ohio who has questions, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show.

Transcript

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Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:01

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Deborah Coviello.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hello and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a health and wellness company? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Zach Reffitt, with Ohio Green Relief. Zach, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Doing fabulous. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Yeah, and I we're gonna have a great time here. We had a pretty good chit-chat before we jumped on here. But honestly, this is about helping you and getting your voice out to your community. And I would love for you to tell us a bit about uh you and

How Virtual Certifications Work

SPEAKER_00 0:48

your company.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Well, the primary uh basis of my company is in the medical marijuana industry. Um, my doctors meet with patients uh virtually to recommend them medical marijuana through the state of Ohio's program. The patients uh go online and upload all their information, including their medical records, for the doctors to review. On the back end, myself and my doctors do our diligence to ensure that the patients do meet the qualifications. And then what happens is my doctors meet with them personally virtually to get them approved for the medical marijuana program in the state of Ohio.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Oh wow, very informative. And um I I appreciate what you do because there is a market and a need. But you know, here's the backstory. How

Building Ohio Green Relief

SPEAKER_00 1:34

did you get into this?

SPEAKER_02 1:35

How'd you get into this? I uh, you know, in all honesty, I built it on I I built it on accident, uh, more or less. I um I was in uh mortgage lending uh for 18 years. Um so I've got kind of a wide array of of marketing abilities. So I kind of thought to myself, someone put the bug in my ear, and I had actually ended up meeting my first doctor um that kind of in him and I together, you know, he kind of inspired me to like look into it. Well, lo and behold, one night I built the uh website myself um on GoDaddy, um, and then I found a location um off the west side of town and um really just started pounding the ground, just taking a lot of the marketing ideas that I learned in the in the finance and mortgage industry and just kind of putting a little twist to it, if you will, and um really started marketing heavy, putting signs up, uh going to dispensaries, trying to meet the owners, uh put trying to talk to patients day in, day out, online, Google, Google, you know, Google runs the world, as I say. So um doing a lot of marketing there.

COVID Fueled Statewide Telemedicine

SPEAKER_02 2:46

Um, and then what happened is um COVID blessed us with its presence. And then everything it used to be in person, so I had multiple locations. So I was when COVID happened, the state of Ohio approved telemedicine, which allowed me to spread my wings not only through Cincinnati, but all the way through the entire state of Ohio. So it went from you know, seeing, you know, five patients a day to some points seeing 70 a day. Um, absolutely. So it kind of just changed drastically. So then I decided to at that point um stop going to four different five different locations around the state of Ohio, and I decided to close them down and make it all one big telemedicine company. So my doctors obviously jumped on board right away. And um, so now we I obviously still have one of my offices where I'm actually sitting right now. Um, because uh, you know, you got to have that uh separation, if you will. I'm not a big uh sitting at home working, I'm uh out out in the market talking to people. You know, that's how the business was built, was pounding pounding the street and meeting people.

Clearing Up Cannabis Misconceptions

SPEAKER_00 3:54

So I am curious, however, um, myths and misconceptions about the industry and the services you offer.

SPEAKER_02 4:02

I'm so sorry, we got disconnected there.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Yeah, well, we're just gonna keep rolling with it here. Uh, but uh would love to continue the conversation because again, it's a very interesting service that you provide. And I'm wondering what might be some of the myths or misconceptions about this industry or service.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

I think a lot of the misconceptions is the actual health benefits it helps with medical marijuana. It's there's proven facts that it helps with chronic pain relief, with multiple sclerosis, with nausea, appetite stimulations, um, epilepsy. PTSD is one of the bigger ones I see um from my patients. You know, I get a lot of veterans, you know, I come from a very deeply rooted military family. So, you know, I see a lot of veterans come back with, you know, very severe PTSD where they they kind of you know rely on me, talk to me, uh, you know, and and explain to me a lot of how these this really helps them with their PTSD they're dealing with. Um, one of the bigger ones I do see is the chronic pain relief, is what a lot of people get. Um, a lot of the lotions and the tinctures that you're able to use, there's patches, there's a lot of different options to use in the medical marijuana world, other than what the obvious world thinks it solely is. So that's one of the biggest misconceptions. Is a lot of people, I just still think they still look at it as taboo, if you will. Uh still look at it as you know, you're doing something wrong, even at almost 50 years old when I built this industry. My mother said, What are you doing again? So I, you know, there's a very big still misconception that red label on it, if you will. But at the end of the day, if you explain, you know how it works and how it benefits people, it really does turn a different different eye to it.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Yeah, um, thank you for all of that. And again, um it's it's a tough nut to crack.

Marketing With Trust And Price

SPEAKER_00 5:55

So you talked about, and again, marketing what you're doing, I'm sure, is really tough. So, again, you tell me a little bit more. You said you hit the ground uh pounding on doors, hitting the ground running. How are you attracting um your target customers? How do you get the word out there?

SPEAKER_02 6:11

Word of, I mean, one of my um geez, God. So, I mean, in the beginning, I, you know, like I said, I took a lot of my marketing ideas I learned um, you know, from my previous career. Um, so what I did a lot of the times is uh yard signs, if you're familiar with them. You know, you see them on the sides of you sell your house, sell me this. Well, like I I firmly believed, and I was right, everyone is gonna look if it says marijuana. So what I did is I actually took those signs and put medical marijuana with a QR code, which everybody in today's world is using the QR code. And what it did, I put those all around town, you know, put them everywhere. Did that, and then like I said, I went to a lot of the dispensaries when they first opened and kind of partnered with them, um, offered discounts to their employees to obviously refer patients to the company, um, so on and so forth. And then, and really just word of mouth. I think I know actually, uh a lot of my patients are big fans of me, and I and I like that. That's one of my enjoyments I get out of this is these patients actually rely on me. It's something a lot of people don't really take into consideration. Like they rely on me to help them, and then they refer me to Deborah, and then Deborah likes me, and then Deborah's family member need in and it just that trickle effect, that trickle effect. And so that's honestly how I believe it built its fastest is the effort and stuff I put in the beginning, the signage and the meeting the people, and just talking to them and literally helping them. You know, there's a lot of people out there. I say this a lot, there's a lot of people out there that have no one to talk to. I'm not saying I'm a therapist by any means, but you know, some people, you know, you know, call me every single year. You know, I I remember them, you know what I mean. I I enjoy talking to them, they they rely on me. And I kind of that's part of the satisfaction of it, in all honesty, is you get to help these people. They enjoy the camaraderie back and forth. And like I said, the word of mouth built itself, you know what I mean? The constant talking, the constant, these different interactions, things like this, you know, in the beginning were hard to get on um because of what I did. Um, you know, so it was kind of honestly climbing those barriers, full disclosure, like getting over the hurdles of you're doing this, you're doing this illegal. It's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Everything is very by the book. Um, I think those leaps and bounds in the beginning were the hardest. Um there's a lot of brow beaters out there, I call there's a lot of the uh keyboard bandits out there, you know, that have those really brash-wide opinions online. So that was one of the hard ones to overcome in the beginning as well. You know, overcoming the crowd and what their opinion of it is and what their belief is, and where it's like, look, I'm I I built it the lowest priced in the state of Cincinnati because I was the only one that was running it. It was just me and my doctors. I don't have a receptionist, I want to take the calls, I want to take the complaints, I want to be the accountable one. And that was one of the good things I built with it, which is which I'm sorry, competitors, I'm sorry you don't like me because I beat you in the beginning price point wise, but that's part of business. So, um, and that was another thing. I've made a very key price point. It made it affordable, you know. In the beginning, everyone was charging $250, $300. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Very low price of $125, plain and simple. You know, where it makes it very affordable, makes the renewals annually only $75, very affordable. I mean, I that's just kind of the niche I hit, and it worked, surprisingly.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

So you talked about you, uh, your

Life Outside Work And Closing

SPEAKER_00 10:00

background is in marketing, and it sounds like you're doing everything you can to reach your ones. And obviously, the referrals are paying you back. But uh just curious, have you ever thought about yourself doing a podcast? You've got great presence here.

SPEAKER_02 10:12

Oh, I appreciate you know what's funny. I don't know how many times I hear from my patients when I talk to them on the phone, why are you not in radio? And I'm like, what do you mean? And they're like, your voice. And I'm like, I I do have a gift of gab, I get it, but I've never really looked into it and I've never explored it. I've never had anyone kind of present it to me. This is I can't even, I'll be honest with you, Deborah. I was so nervous at almost 50 years old to come on this this morning, and I've told I even told my wife, I was like, I've always wanted to do this, I've just never had someone kind of say, Hey, you want to do this? Yeah, I mean, when I saw that email, I was like, I'm all over it for sure.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Okay, well, thumbs up, you're doing just fine.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

All right, so people buy from people they trust and they and they get to know. So outside of work, uh, what do you do for fun or that's interesting?

SPEAKER_02 11:05

I have a 16-year-old girl that uh keeps us pretty much on our toes. Um, plays varsity basketball, um, and then I golf. I'm uh kind of retired from all the other sports that I played for the first part of my life, and uh hopefully on to an easier relaxation. My wife and I uh like to kind of hike, like she likes to come with me and golf. Um, you know, we we kind of do what we can to fill the time. Like I said, the 16-year-old keeps us on our toes, pretty much 24-7 anymore.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Uh, I totally get that. If I've been there myself. So um we're starting to get close to a close here, but I want to give you just an opportunity. Um, you know, one final pitch was there one thing that you want, uh Zach, for people to remember about uh Ohio Green Relief.

SPEAKER_02 11:55

We're here to help. Yeah, we're one of the most understanding companies out there. I know this firsthand. I know my competition. You know, that's one of the best things. Um and we make it affordable, comfortable, and enjoyable to do the process. You know, a lot of people are left out there on the island, as I say, with a lot of different companies, and they end up back somehow, because we're all together somehow, shape or form, they end up on my phone, and I'm the one helping them. And then again, that kind of refers back to like you you can kind of hear the thankfulness, you know, that you get from these patients. And that's that goes a long way. It goes a lot further than I ever thought it would, in all honesty.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Very heartwarming. And so, as we do bring this to a close, how can listeners learn more uh about you and Ohio Green Relief?

SPEAKER_02 12:44

By picking up the phone and giving me a call personally. Okay, head to our website at ohiogreenrelief.com, just how it sounds, book a consultation, and make sure you fill out all the information that's emailed to you. And rest assured my doctors and myself will be giving you a call to ensure the process was good and make sure there was no issues.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

All right. Well, uh, Zach, I just want to say I really appreciate you being on the show, and we wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpsincennati.com. That's gnpsincennati.com or call 513 878 0987.