Although Hondros is recognized for his work in many local sectors, from business education to agriculture, he was known as a pioneer in the local medical marijuana and CBD business.
Hondros, which entered the medical marijuana and CBD business space in 2018, operated multiple dispensaries across the state. His Centerville-based hemp farm, Hondros Hemp Farm, was the first to legally harvest hemp in the state of Ohio in 2020.
He founded Verdant Creations, a Franklin County-based pharmacy, along with Motive CBD and Purpose Leaf. Hondros, who did not advocate the recreational use of marijuana, believed strongly in its medicinal value.
John Hondros also founded National Education Seminars in the early 1980s to provide adults with the education they need to enter the real estate and insurance industries. According to the obituary, this eventually became Hondros College, one of the largest private educational enterprises in the United States.
The serial entrepreneur also ran a successful farm, Sakura Wagyu Farms.
Born in Wichita, Kansas, Hondros moved to Columbus nearly 50 years ago, where he worked with his wife and business partner, Linda Hondros, and raised four children.
