Lawmakers set a goal of passing the marijuana bill before breaking until after the November election, viewing it as ammunition against a well-funded medical marijuana issue working its way to fall ballots.
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The Buckeye State is poised to tip the balance of medical marijuana in the US, as a historic piece of legislation passes the Ohio House, headed for the senate.
House Bill 523 would give Ohioans with certain medical conditions the right to use medical marijuana, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Whereas the legislature can more easily make changes down the road to address specific concerns, a ballot initiative forever changes the state’s constitution and has the potential to be inflexible and unresponsive to the future needs of Ohioans. “Their support for medical marijuana speaks volumes for eliminating any remaining biases against allowing doctors to recommend this life-enhancing treatment to patients in need”.
The first major poll of OH voters released since Gov. John Kasich and Ted Cruz dropped out of the presidential race last week shows the race may be very close here.
If the bill becomes law, OH would have a medical marijuana law more similar to NY and Minnesota compared to older medical marijuana programs on the West Coast.
OH now requires providers to dispose of aborted fetuses “in a humane manner”, but that’s not further defined in law.
Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican who supported the bill, pointed to a provision that asks the federal government to remove marijuana from its list of Schedule I risky substances. However, the legislation passed will not allow patients to smoke or grow the marijuana. Additionally, dispensaries licensed by the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy would sell marijuana oils, tinctures, patches, and plant material.
Twenty medical conditions would qualify for medical marijuana. And more than half say they support allowing adults to possess small amounts of pot for personal use.
Patients and caregivers would have an “affirmative defense” from arrest or prosecution if caught with marijuana before it’s legally sold in OH, as long as use was recommended by a physician and meets the criteria established for the program.
“I don’t like this bill”, said Sen.
“Nobody with a straight face could actually claim that marijuana is more harmful than cocaine, yet marijuana is on Schedule I and cocaine is on Schedule II”, he said.
Administration officials say merging state parks with the watercraft division will ultimately drive more dollars to boaters and park visitors.
“We can’t grow hemp and can’t extract from hemp”, he said.
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Also headed to the governor after unanimously clearing the Senate was Senate Bill 63, sponsored by state Sen.
