Part of Ohio's new medical marijuana law that sets aside a piece of the state's budding pot business for minorities appears to be unconstitutional, legal experts told The Associated Press. The provisions were inserted into the fast-tracked bill at the request of Democrats, whose votes were key to its passage in both Republican-controlled legislative chambers. The law made Ohio the 25th state to legalize medicinal cannabis. It takes effect Sept. 8. The benchmarks require at least 15 percent of Ohio's cultivator, processor, retail dispensary and laboratory licenses to go to the businesses of one of four economically disadvantaged minority groups - - blacks, Hispanics, Asians or Native Americans - so long as an adequate number apply. [continues 534 words]
Ohio lawyers are inquiring about the legal ethics accompanying medical marijuana. A committee of the Board of Professional Conduct is examining the issue and expects to make a recommendation on an advisory opinion in August. Two lawyers have sought guidance on ethical issues since lawmakers recently legalized the cultivation and sale of marijuana for medical purposes. The questions being asked include the type of services lawyers can provide to marijuana-related businesses, attorney ownership in related businesses and the personal use of medical marijuana. [continues 81 words]
I respond to the Sunday letter "State needs guidance on medical pot" from Thomas D'Onofrio. I don't think he should worry about anyone using medical marijuana. This bill was crafted by elected career legislators, who are also prohibitionists. I don't think any doctors are going to write people a prescription for medical marijuana unless they are on their death bed. No insurance company is going to cover medical marijuana as soon as it sees the word THC anywhere. [continues 105 words]
Medical Marijuana Ban Now Appears to Conflict With State Law HAMILTON - Hamilton City Council voted 5-1 last year to effectively ban in the city the sale of medical marijuana through its zoning codes, and Cincinnati attorney Mike Allen said it may have a legal issue since it will soon be legal in Ohio to prescribe medical marijuana in limited forms. The bill signed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich last week won't allow marijuana to be smoked or grown at home, but would allow for it to be prescribed in alternative forms, such as patches, vapors and edibles. [continues 368 words]
COLUMBUS (AP) - Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Wednesday legalizing medical marijuana in Ohio, though patients shouldn't expect to get it from dispensaries here anytime soon. The bill lays out a number of steps that must happen first to set up the state's medical marijuana program, which is expected to be fully operational in about two years. The law would allow patients to use marijuana in vapor form for certain chronic health conditions, but bar them from smoking it or growing it at home. [continues 489 words]
COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio became the latest state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana after Republican Gov. John Kasich signed legislation Wednesday. The law allows people to use the drug in vapor form for certain chronic health conditions, while barring patients from smoking marijuana or growing it at home. Kasich's signature makes Ohio the 25th state to legalize a comprehensive medical marijuana program, according to a count by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Ohio's bill drew both support and opposition from Republicans and Democrats when it cleared the legislature late last month. Lawmakers had moved quickly on the measure as they looked to offset support for a proposed fall ballot issue. The group behind the ballot effort has since dropped its plan and called the legislation "a step forward." [continues 136 words]
Ohio became the latest state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana after Republican Gov. John Kasich signed legislation Wednesday. The law allows people to use the drug in vapor form for certain chronic health conditions, while barring patients from smoking marijuana or growing it at home. Kasich's signature makes Ohio the 25th state to legalize a comprehensive medical marijuana program, according to a count by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Ohio's bill drew both support and opposition from Republicans and Democrats when it cleared the legislature late last month. Lawmakers had moved quickly on the measure as they looked to offset support for a proposed fall ballot issue. The group behind the ballot effort has since dropped its plan and called the legislation "a step forward." [continues 136 words]
Doctors against medical marijuana should stop pretending present pharmaceuticals are any less dangerous. The shear ignorance and bias in many of the articles written against the legalization of medical marijuana - many of them by doctors no less - is astounding and shameful. They speak as if we don't already have medicines derived from opium, from which heroin, morphine, oxycodone and the like are derived, or the coca plant that produces cocaine (which led to the discovery of lidocaine, etc.), as well as dozens of other highly toxic and/or addictive herbs. [continues 218 words]
Lawmakers weren't bluffing when they pledged they would consider medical marijuana after an outside group's effort to legalize pot failed last November. Much of that push, of course, came from polls suggesting Ohioans favor medical marijuana, and from concerns that outsiders would again try for a more liberal marijuana law by amending the state constitution. Not only did lawmakers carefully study the issue, they passed a bill that will become law if Gov. John Kasich signs it. Kasich should. House Bill 523, while not perfect, is a conservative approach to allow those with legitimate medical conditions to have access to a drug that can benefit them when others don't. [continues 122 words]
Lawmakers weren't bluffing when they pledged they would consider medical marijuana after an outside group's effort to legalize pot failed last November. Much of that push, of course, came from polls suggesting Ohioans favor medical marijuana, and from concerns that outsiders would again try for a more liberal marijuana law by amending the state constitution. Not only did lawmakers carefully study the issue, they passed a bill that will become law if Gov. John Kasich signs it. Kasich should. House Bill 523, while not perfect, is a conservative approach to allow those with legitimate medical conditions to have access to a drug that can benefit them when others don't. The legislation won't appease all. Some people still believe marijuana should not be legalized in any shape or form. [continues 324 words]
I respond to the Tuesday letter "Legislators answered call with marijuana bill" from Aaron Neumann, who congratulated the legislature for passing medical-marijuana legislation rather than allowing a ballot initiative to create a law without the legislature's input or approval. However, Neumann was critical of the bill's burdensome regulations, restrictions and red tape. He should have mentioned that one can't actually possess, grow or ingest the unprocessed plant that is the law's namesake, even with a prescription. Marijuana the plant will remain just as illegal as it was before the bill is passed. Ohio's medical-marijuana law is not concerned with allowing suffering people access to marijuana but about stopping ballot initiatives - just as last year's State Issue 2 was about stopping marijuana legalization. William Bruns Blacklick [end]
Even if Ohio Gov. John Kasich signs into law a bill legalizing medical marijuana, some patients could be stopped from treatment by their employers. The bill passed by the state legislature last month would allow individuals to use, but not smoke, marijuana with a physician's permission. However, the bill also allows employers to keep drug-free workplace policies. That means as long as employers express the policy upfront, they have the right to fire, or choose not to hire, an individual based on marijuana use, even if that employee has permission to use the drug. [continues 521 words]
I am writing a letter on medical marijuana. Many people don't like the idea of it being legalized, but if we could just get it legalized to where only doctors could prescribe it to someone instead of legalizing all of it, I think it would be OK and beneficial to many. For example, a 9-year-old girl who had T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia went through many radiation treatments, doctors wanted to do chemotherapy and even a bone marrow transplant but her parents said no. In July 2012 her lymphoblast count was 51 percent; by August 2012 it was 0 percent! This all happened in just one week after she was given the cannabis oil treatment. [continues 93 words]
A group Saturday ended its effort to put a medical marijuana issue on Ohio's general election ballot. The Ohioans for Medical Marijuana announced that organizers decided with "a heavy heart" to halt collection of signatures to get on the November ballot in the aftermath of passage this past week by state lawmakers of a medical marijuana legalization bill. The proposal would bar patients from smoking marijuana or growing it at home, but it would allow its use in vapor form for certain chronic health conditions. It still requires Gov. John Kasich's signature. [continues 333 words]
ZANESVILLE - From 2008 to 2014, 32,021 marijuana seizures in Muskingum County were reported to the Ohio Attorney General's Office, putting it at number one in the state. In 2010 alone, agencies in the county reported more than 25,000 seizures, which was nearly 25 percent of all marijuana seizures reported in the state 105,121. According to the data, Pike County and Franklin County were also top counties for marijuana seizures, and during the same time period, Perry County had 12,290 seizures reported. [continues 750 words]
CINCINNATI - A group Saturday ended its effort to put a medical marijuana issue on Ohio's general election ballot. The Ohioans for Medical Marijuana announced that organizers decided with "a heavy heart" to halt collection of signatures to get on the November ballot in the aftermath of passage last week by state lawmakers of a medical marijuana legalization bill. The proposal would bar patients from smoking marijuana or growing it at home, but it would allow its use in vapor form for certain chronic health conditions. It still requires Gov. John Kasich's signature. [continues 332 words]
COLUMBUS - A group eyeing a November ballot issue to legalize medical marijuana has suspended its signature-gathering efforts, days after lawmakers finalized legislation to create a state-regulated system for providing the drug to patients suffering certain conditions. Brandon Lynaugh, campaign manager for Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, said in a released statement Saturday morning that the difficulties in raising the needed funds to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot and run a successful campaign were difficult propositions, given the legislature's action and Gov. John Kasich's expected signature. [continues 288 words]
A medical marijuana legalization bill has been sent to Ohio Gov. John Kasich in an effort by state lawmakers to offset support for a proposed fall ballot measure. The measure cleared the Ohio Senate by just three votes, and the House followed by OK'ing Senate changes 67-28. The proposal, which Kasich has not committed to signing, would bar patients from smoking marijuana or growing it at home, but it would allow its use in vapor form for certain chronic health conditions. [continues 370 words]
Marijuana plants could be growing legally in Ohio soil in a year, predicts state Sen. Dave Burke, an architect of Ohio's newly minted medical marijuana law. "As soon as 16 months, you would have products tested and available," the Marysville Republican said. House Bill 523, the medical marijuana law, completed a rocky journey through the legislature Wednesday. It is now headed to Gov. John Kasich. Kasich has not indicated whether he will sign the bill into law. He also could veto it or allow it to take effect without his signature. [continues 515 words]
Proposal Scrapped Over Concerns About Burden on the State. COLUMBUS (AP) - A legislative proposal to regulate medical marijuana through Ohio's pharmacy board was scrapped Tuesday over concerns the rare setup nationally would create an undue burden on the state. Republican Sen. David Burke, a Marysville pharmacist behind the idea, called the arrangement the most responsible way to oversee marijuana as medicine. He said changes introduced in the Senate Government Oversight Committee on Tuesday were needed to strike a workable compromise. [continues 465 words]
