Pubdate: Sat, 31 Mar 2012
Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH)
Copyright: 2012 The Columbus Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.dispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93
Author: Justin Conley
Note: Justin Conley is a fellow in the Ohio University E.W. Scripps School
of Journalism Statehouse News Bureau.

MEDICAL-MARIJUANA BACKERS SEEK FUNDS

Initiative Would Create 9-Member Panel to Set Rules

The Ohio Medical Cannabis Association has planted the seed for a 
ballot initiative that would put the question of medical marijuana to 
Ohio voters this November, and now it is working to ensure those 
efforts bear fruit.

The Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment would make Ohio the 17th state to 
legalize marijuana for treatment of patients with a variety of 
diseases that cause chronic pain, including cancer, rheumatoid 
arthritis and spinal-cord injuries.

In a news conference yesterday, Len Toma, 58, a Cleveland-area 
business owner, said he had tried every medical option to treat 
chronic pain caused by his peripheral neuropathy since being 
diagnosed in the mid-'90s.

Despite visiting every major hospital in the Cleveland area and 
taking high doses of morphine, Percocet and muscle relaxers, Toma 
said the pain forced him to leave his job in 2005.

He also tried alternative therapies such as hypnosis and acupuncture. 
It was his psychologist who first suggested marijuana as a treatment 
about three years ago.

"At that time, it just didn't seem to be conceivable that that was 
something that I would do - I have two children at home," Toma said.

Just two years later, Toma said he tried marijuana and found that it 
allowed him to sleep through the night, alleviated his muscle spasms 
and allowed him to reduce the dosages of his morphine and muscle relaxers.

"It has really made a difference in my life," he said.

Language for the proposed initiative was approved by the Ohio Ballot 
Board in January, and now sponsors must gather 385,245 signatures 
from registered Ohio voters before July 4 to make the Nov. 6 ballot.

Theresa Daniello, a leader of OMCA, said the organization currently 
is fundraising, and volunteers are scheduled to begin collecting 
signatures in May and June.

The ballot board cleared a similar proposal, the Ohio Alternative 
Treatment Amendment, in October 2011 to begin collecting signatures 
for this November's ballot. The proposals differ in how medical 
marijuana use would be implemented.

The Alternative Treatment Amendment includes language that would 
limit how much marijuana an individual could possess, where it could 
be sold and the fees attached to buying and selling. The Cannabis 
Amendment establishes a commission to make those decisions.

Mark Ramach, general counsel for OMCA, said the commission is the 
best option for Ohioans.

"Yes, there are other groups in this state working toward that, but 
we feel that our language provides the best avenue for patients to 
ensure their rights are kept and to ensure that the industry is 
controlled in a way that is flexible, but yet stringent," Ramach said.

The commission would include three registered voters, two licensed 
practitioners, one licensed farmer, a representative of the Ohio 
Civil Rights Commission and two licensed attorneys.

Geoff Korff, a Salem lawyer involved with the Alternative Treatment 
Amendment, previously told The Dispatch that he is uncomfortable with 
leaving the specifics to a commission and thinks some reconciliation 
will have to take place before November.

Though the proposed initiatives have significant differences, 
patients such as Toma are keeping an eye on the ultimate goal if the 
initiative passes.

"I wouldn't be buying something off the street where I don't know 
what I'm getting," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom