Medical marijuana users in OH must get a recommendation from a certified OH doctor, said Tessie Pollock, spokeswoman for the State Medical Board of Ohio.
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Sen. Dave Burke, R-Marysville, a sponsor of the marijuana legislation, said the law does not dictate where people may buy medical marijuana.
Qualifying medical conditions for the program include: AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, hepatitis C, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable, Parkinson’s disease, positive status for HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, spinal cord disease or injury, Tourette’s syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and ulcerative colitis. Patients should expect to be able to possess up to a 90 days’ supply of marijuana at any one time legally, though the Ohio Board of Pharmacy is continuing to develop the appropriate rules and bureaucracy necessary to carry out this quasi-legalization across the state.
Patients will only be allowed to use marijuana as vaporized, oil, edible or patch forms-they will not be allowed to smoke it.
The DEA’s stance, declining to reschedule marijuana, maintains the legal conflict between 25 state medical marijuana laws and the federal government.
The system will be overseen by Ohio Department of Commerce, Ohio Board of Pharmacy, State Medical Board and an appointed advisory committee.
29, 2009, file photo shows trays of marijuana clones and gardening supplies underneath grow lights at the Peace in Medicine dispensary in Sebastopol, Calif. Uncertainty prevails in OH as a law legalizing medical marijuana under very limited circumstances is set to take effect Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016. Additionally, the law is unclear what happens if patients obtain medical cannabis from other states like Colorado, and doing so may violate federal law. The bill also does not allow for users to grow marijuana at home. Doctors need to know how they can serve those they assist, and need to understand the limits of the law.
Yuko said medical marijuana entrepreneurs live in urban and rural areas and urged local leaders to consider the economic opportunities for their residents. Three state regulatory agencies have until May to finish the rules and regulations for cultivators and until next September for all other businesses.
OH employers are not required to permit or accommodate employees’ use, possession or distribution of medical marijuana, the memo says.
OH lawyers, too, are in a holding pattern. Marijuana remains classified federally as a Schedule I drug, and questions and concerns about medicinal cannabis’ future remain. Under the new law, an employer does not have to accommodate an employee’s use of marijuana, and an employee who is injured while working under the influence of marijuana will not be eligible for worker’s compensation benefits.
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OMM estimates that 200,000 Ohioans will ultimately qualify for access to medical marijuana. However, the bill lacked support.
