Pubdate: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 Source: Lancaster Eagle-Gazette (OH) Copyright: 2013 Lancaster Eagle-Gazette Contact: http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3143 Author: Jeff Barron, The Eagle-Gazette Staff Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?197 (Marijuana - Medicinal - Ohio) ADAMH MULLS MEDICAL MARIJUANA Wants to Determine a Policy Should Issue Go Before Voters LANCASTER - With voters possibly deciding the fate of medical marijuana in Ohio next year, the Fairfield County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board wants to have a policy on the issue by then. The board took the first step Tuesday by hosting a presentation of the Drug-Free Action Alliance at the Liberty Center. The alliance is a nonprofit focused on preventing substance abuse that says marijuana should be subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards like any other potential medicine and should not be decided by voters or the legislature. Tony Coder, the assistant director of the Columbus-based group, said 20 states have medical marijuana laws, and two states have legalized the drug for recreational use. However, he expressed numerous concerns with the issue. "Is it a medicine?" he said. "I don't know. Components of marijuana have promise. It does help cancer, and in New Jersey, we see it helps in seizures. It helps in pain symptoms. But there are marijuana-based medicines already." Coder said he doesn't have have a problem with someone who is sick or dying using marijuana to ease their pain. But he said the average person who is allowed to use medical marijuana in other states is a 32-year-old male with no health problems. Many are approved for medical marijuana uses simply because they claim to be in pain, Coder said. Coder said the issue is not a moral one, but a matter of policy. He said proponents of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use in Ohio say it comes from God, it is natural and comes from the ground, and that no one has ever overdosed from it. He then compared those statements with similar ones made about cigarettes at one time. Coder said marijuana use is linked to schizophrenia and that long-term use can lower IQ numbers by 8 points. "Now if someone has an IQ of 130 and they lose 8 points, that may not be so much," he said. "But the average IQ is around 100. You lose 8 points there ... you go from average to dull." He said that could affect school teachers whose job performance is based on how well students do on proficiency tests if medical use leads to more teens using marijuana. Coder also said marijuana users are subject to heart attack risks because the drug speeds up the heart. He additionally said marijuana impairs the body's immune system and leads to an increase in motor vehicle crashes. The Recovery Center CEO Trisha Farrar said Coder's presentation was well-done. "Tony Coder is very informed about the marijuana issue," she said. "The stance the Drug-Free Action Alliance takes is that we need to go through the FDA as we do for any other medication, and we totally support that stance." Fairfield County Commissioner Dave Levacy said the presentation confirmed many beliefs he had. "The term medical marijuana, first of all, I think is bogus," he said. "I think the idea of the medical part is a backdoor approach by those who would like to legalize the drug to make that happen." ADAMH Executive Director Rhonda Myers said it's important that the board look at the proposed legislation for medical marijuana, examine it from a policy perspective and then determine a position. "We're in the process of trying to educate ourselves and the information from some of these other states is personally alarming to me," she said. "But again, I think we need to look at all of the policy nuances and weigh everything." Myers said the board also has talked about listening to a group that favors medical marijuana use in making its policy determination. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom