How does the dispensary determine how many days supply I am allowed to purchase?

Last Updated: April 18, 2020

As of April 17, 2020, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy has simplified the process for patients, caregivers, and dispensaries to calculate days’ supply. It is worth noting that the overall legal limits defining a 90-day supply have not changed, just the rules regarding how that supply is apportioned.

How do the new 45-day fill periods work?

The significant highlights of the new process are as follows:

  • Each patient’s 90-day recommendation is now divided into two 45-day fill periods based upon the patent’s current, active recommendation. You can calculate the start and end dates for each of your upcoming fill periods using the form below.
  • You can now purchase a full 45-day supply regardless of when you visit the dispensary during that 45-day fill period. For example: if a patient who has not yet purchased any product during the current fill period visits the dispensary on day 25; that patient may purchase up to a 45-day supply of medical marijuana.
  • If you purchase your 45-day allotment before the end of your current fill period, you must wait for the new period to begin before you may purchase additional medical marijuana.
  • There is no rollover from one fill period to the next. For example: if you do not purchase any medical marijuana within your current 45-day fill period, you can still only purchase a maximum of a 45-day supply when the next fill period begins.

Calculate Your Fill Period Dates

The Pharmacy Board has provided a simple tool to help patients calculate the start and end dates for their next eight 45-day fill periods.
Click here to calculate your 45-day fill periods.

How many days’ supply are left in my current 45-day fill period?

Every time a patient visits a dispensary, the dispensary staff checks the Patient Registry to find out how much product the patient has purchased during the current fill period, and then calculates the number of supply days remaining. Here’s how it works:

First, each patient’s purchases for the current, 45-day fill period—regardless of product type—are converted into a common unit of measure called whole day units (a.k.a. one day supply) and then totaled. A whole day unit is the minimum daily purchase quantity as defined by Ohio law.

The number of whole day units represented by each purchase are based on either the testing percentage of THC (for flower products)—or the total amount of THC (for non-flower products).

Chart A – Flower: shows how many whole day units each purchase of 0.1 oz of flower represents. (Tier I flower tests at 23% or less THC; Tier II flower tests over 23% THC.)

Product Qty Whole Day Units
Ounces Grams Tier I Tier II
0.1 2.83 2 2
0.2 5.66 3 4
0.3 8.49 4 6
0.4 11.32 5 7
0.5 14.15 6 9
0.6 16.98 7 11
0.7 19.81 8 12
0.8 22.64 9 14
0.9 25.47 11 16
1.0 28.30 12 17

Chart B – Processed: shows the whole day unit equivalents for non-flower products.

Product Type MG of THC per 1-day supply
Edible 110mg
Topical 295mg
Oil or Solid for Vaporization 590mg

Next, the patient’s total purchases for the current 45-day fill period (expressed as whole-day units) is subtracted from 45 days (or 46 if it is the patient’s initial fill period) to calculate the patient’s 45-day supply remaining.

For Example:
A patient whose current 45-day fill period begin on October 1st has made the following purchases:

  • 12 = 1 oz Tier I flower
  • 17 = 1 oz Tier II flower
  • 2 = 220mg Edibles
  • 1 = 590mg Oil for vaporization
  • 32 : Whole Day Units Purchased
  • 45 – 32 = 13 : Days’ Supply Remaining in Fill Period

Let’s say today is November 4th. The patient’s current fill period ends on the 14th, so the number of days remaining in the current 45-day fill period is 10.

However, because the patient has only purchased 32 whole day units since the fill period began, the patient may actually purchase up to 13 whole day units of product.