There are currently twenty-three states (plus the District of Columbia) that have legalized marijuana for a wide range of medicinal purposes and many other states have put together legislation for some form of legalization over the years. Throughout history the marijuana or cannabis plant has been such a highly controversial topic; we tend to only think of one particular action involving its use, that being smoking. This thought process, along with a great deal of propaganda and anti-drug campaigns, has taught us to think of mostly negative connotations with regard to use of the plant. [continues 495 words]
Kevin Spitler runs the Toledo Hemp Center, a Sylvania Avenue storefront that sells products rich in CBD, a chemical found in hemp that's associated with pain relief and muscle relaxation. Kevin Spitler is Toledo's homegrown hemp entrepreneur. Mr. Spitler, 41, of Allegan, Mich., runs the Toledo Hemp Center. The small, white-walled Sylvania Avenue storefront sells everything from soaps and sprays to vapor pens and chewing gum, but all the products are rich in cannabidiol, or CBD -- a chemical found in industrial hemp. [continues 506 words]
Groups Aim to Legalize Responsible Use -- Medical and Otherwise Rob Ryan isn't shy about the medicine he said has helped him tremendously -- even though it's illegal. After a cancer diagnosis about 10 years ago, Mr. Ryan, now 60, began a regimen of the usual suspects. Chemotherapy and pills led to pain and weight loss. Then he added marijuana to the mix. He said the improvements were undeniable. At that moment, he realized the earlier things he'd heard about the banned drugs' ill effects simply were not true. [continues 1573 words]
Society is increasingly coming to accept that marijuana has some legitimate medical uses. Though a bill to legalize it is still languishing in the Ohio General Assembly, medical marijuana is now allowed in 22 states, including Michigan, where voters overwhelmingly approved it six years ago. And those who love grass are also pushing for its legalization for recreational use. Colorado has effectively decriminalized pot. Up to a dozen Michigan towns may have largely symbolic proposals to decriminalize marijuana on the ballot this year. [continues 187 words]
Ethan Nadelmann, the chief architect of marijuana-legalization issues coast-to-coast, paused when asked if voter approval of medical marijuana in Ohio is inevitable. "A good ballot issue will win," he said. "The broader public support is there." But Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said a campaign won't happen here this year and probably not in 2015. The focus this year is on ballot issues in Oregon, Alaska and Florida, he said. "Support for medical marijuana is very high here," he said during a stopover yesterday in Columbus. "But there is a very negative attitude about (recreational) marijuana. Plus, it's a very expensive state to run a campaign." [continues 329 words]
People in Colorado have a medical-marijuana law and a recreational-marijuana law. They also have the law of unintended consequences. For example, businesses that legally sell marijuana under state law sometimes have to spray their cash with air freshener or the banks won't accept it - because the money smells like marijuana and selling pot remains illegal under federal law, which regulates banks. A medical-marijuana patient in Colorado can't legally buy a firearm, faces potential eviction from federal housing projects and might be prohibited from receiving veterans benefits. [continues 356 words]
TOLEDO (AP) - A petition drive has begun to decriminalize the use of marijuana in Toledo. Members of Toledo's chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws began collecting signatures on Tuesday to put the measure before voters. Mary Smith, a spokeswoman for the group, said supporters have collected 2,800 signatures so far and need 3,800 more to get the ordinance on Toledo's November ballot. The measure would prohibit police from citing or arresting someone for having, selling or using marijuana. It also would prohibit city prosecutors from trying marijuana cases. The drive is separate from a statewide effort to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio. [end]
TOLEDO - A petition drive has begun to decriminalize the use of marijuana in Toledo. Members of Toledo's chapter of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws began collecting signatures on Tuesday to put the measure before voters. Mary Smith, a spokeswoman for the group, said supporters have collected 2,800 signatures so far and need 3,800 more to get the ordinance on Toledo's November ballot, according to WTOL-TV, (http://bit.ly/Qr8BL1). "We're ready now as citizens to have a fresh, mature discussion about the pros and cons of marijuana use and how our laws reflect that," said Sean Nestor, who's also with the group. The measure, known as The Sensible Marijuana Ordinance, would prohibit police from citing or arresting someone for having, selling or using marijuana. It also would prohibit city prosecutors from trying marijuana cases. [continues 195 words]
The group must collect 350,000 valid signatures to get a petition on the November ballot. Ohio Rights Group volunteer Mike Schreffler of Massillon used Election Day to try to collect signatures from voters to get a petition on the November ballot to legalize the use of medical marijuana and hemp. The group must collect 350,000 valid signatures, said Schreffler. Standing outside the polling location at Grace Community Church on Hankins Road Tuesday, Schreffler wasn't having much success. He had collected just three signatures in three hours earlier in the day, and came back out around 5:30 p.m. to try again. [end]
Ali and Adam Oliver aren't sure what they'd think about medical marijuana if it weren't for Alex. Maybe they'd vote no if the issue were on a ballot, or not care much either way. As it is, 5-year-old Alex, the younger of the Upper Arlington couple's two sons, has endured seizures every day for most of his life, some so severe that he has to go to a hospital, where doctors force him into a coma to stop the erratic brain activity. [continues 1037 words]
DOVER - The Anti-Drug Coalition of Tuscarawas County wants the community to be informed about marijuana in light of a proposed ballot initiative that would legalize medicinal use of the drug in Ohio. About 15 people attended the coalition's The Blunt Truth About Marijuana presentation at the Dover Public Library on Monday night. The presentation addressed several common myths about the legalization of marijuana. The Ohio Right Group is collecting signatures to get the Ohio Cannabis Rights Amendment on the November ballot. The group has until July 2 to gather 385,000 signatures. [continues 289 words]
Rights Group, Hagan at Odds Over Approach YOUNGSTOWN - The Ohio Rights Group has collected about 15 percent of the 385,000 signatures it needs by July 2 to put the Ohio Cannabis Rights Amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the November ballot. The group's president, John Pardee of Amherst, said the "army" of people wanting the medical marijuana amendment to pass "is growing by the day." Pardee said that ironically may be the reason why state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th, a longtime proponent of legalizing medical marijuana, has pulled his support for the amendment. [continues 533 words]
Marijuana is still not legal in Ohio, but state law enforcement officials worry driving while stoned is destroying nationwide efforts to reduce fatal car crashes. Deadly collisions involving marijuana use have tripled in the last 10 years, according to a recent study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The study was published Jan. 29 in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The analysis showed 28 percent of driver fatalities and more than 11 percent of the general driver population tested positive for non-alcohol drugs, with marijuana being the most commonly detected substance. [continues 782 words]
What Will Ohio Voters Say If the Issue Is on the Ballot? Medical marijuana proponents are continuing efforts to bring legalization of the drug to Ohio voters in November. Libertarian candidate for governor Charlie Earl announced his endorsement for the "Ohio Cannabis Rights Amendment" earlier this month, and John Pardee, president of the Ohio Rights Group that's pushing to get the amendment on the ballot, praised Earl for his support in a recent news release. "It clearly shows that attitudes of Ohio's political candidates are beginning to align with those Ohio voters who support the medicinal use of cannabis by almost nine to one," Pardee said. [continues 847 words]
At Ohio University's Baker Center Theater Tuesday, a panel discussing the potential legalization of medical marijuana in Ohio aired opinions from both sides of the debate. The Health Promotion department of OU's Campus Involvement Center presented "The Amazing Blazing Marijuana Debate," a 90-minute conversation about the merits and problems of medical marijuana. Even after additional chairs were imported, attendees lined the wings of the theater, signifying either heavy student extra-credit involvement or an unanticipated level of interest in the topic. [continues 999 words]
Brenda Heidinger, executive director of the Mahoning County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board, will be presenting "Marijuana 101 What Ohio's Proposed Marijuana Legislation Means for Our Communities" at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Brookfield High School auditorium, 614 Bedford Road, Brookfield. The presentation looks at how passage of this legislation will affect schools, businesses and Ohio taxpayers. Medical marijuana advocates in Ohio are currently circulating petitions and must gather more than 300,000 signatures to get the effort in front of voters. If voters approve the Ohio Cannabis Rights Amendment, it would not only legalize medical marijuana, but would also establish a commission to regulate it. States that have approved medical marijuana use: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and District of Columbia. [end]
After dozens of election cycles, Ohio has earned its name as a swing state, but now it is ready to test the limits of that title on the issue of legalizing marijuana. To date, medical marijuana has been legalized in 20 U.S. States plus the District of Columbia, and Ohio might be joining this list after the 2014 election, according to an article on Cantonrep.com. However, for this to even be possible, the state must first overcome a number of milestones. In order to have the issue of medicinal marijuana on the 2014 ballot, the organizations vying for legalization, such as the Ohio Rights Group, must obtain approximately 385,000 signatures of registered Ohio voters, according to an article on Morningjournal.com. [continues 875 words]
It's almost impossible to discuss legalizing marijuana, whether for medical or recreational purposes, without a few giggles. But the issue really deserves the type of serious attention Ohio gives to the bad economy, government budget issues, women's rights and LGBT rights. It's not funny, for example, that an Ohio cancer patient struggling with nausea and loss of appetite as a result of chemotherapy has three options: use inadequate, potentially addictive medication; pay for a costly trip to a state where marijuana is legal; or buy it illegally, risking fines and marks on a criminal record. [continues 645 words]
Pro-Medical Marijuana Organization Targets the 2014 Ohio Ballot; Entrepreneurs Prepare for Eventual Legalization Ohioans could soon legally toke up if the Ohio Rights Group succeeds in its efforts to legalize medical marijuana and industrial hemp across the state. The 2014 ballot effort tackles the issue as Colorado and Washington move along with full-on marijuana legalization and President Barack Obama, a vocal skeptic of legalization, allows both states to pursue their "experiments." But before Ohio can vote on the issue in November, the Ohio Rights Group first needs to gather 385,247 petition signatures, which in large part must come from at least half of Ohio's 88 counties, and present them to Ohio's secretary of state before a July deadline. For a grassroots campaign, that presents a considerable -- and costly -- statewide undertaking. [continues 1067 words]
Prohibiting sick citizens from using cannabis (marijuana) is vile and lacks compassion ("Blowing smoke: Legalizing pot in Ohio" (Jan. 15). Another reason to allow sick citizens to use cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it's biblically correct, since God created the plant, saying it's good on literally the very first page of the Bible. Further, many people know of cannabis as the tree of life, and the very last page of the Bible indicates the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. The Christ Jesus risked jail in order to heal the sick. A sane or moral argument to cage sick humans for using cannabis doesn't exist. DILLON, COLO. [end]
