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]
Over the years, people have been taught that marijuana was an evil drug. This drug is so evil that approximately 750,000 people are arrested every year and some of them convicted and fined for its use in the United States. So evil that every 42 seconds someone gets arrested for it. America is so convinced of marijuana's evils, that we are willing to root out this drug wherever it is used, bought, and sold, right? Wrong. in our nation's capital, before legalization, 91 percent of arrested marijuana dealers were African-American. What about the other 9 percent? Well, before Washington voters legalized its use, only 4 percent of Washington, D.C.'s arrested marijuana dealers were Caucasian. [continues 546 words]
The House just passed a medical marijuana measure and an initiative will likely be on the ballot in November. While I believe marijuana should be legalized, this initiative and the legislation being considered by the Senate should be rejected since people who don't use marijuana will be forced to pay taxes to support a state commission the law creates. We already have too many bureaucrats in Columbus to support. Too often politicians create high-paying jobs for their friends, at taxpayers' expense, by creating new state agencies when we urgently need to prune the bloated state government. [continues 198 words]
As it nears a potential vote next week on medical marijuana, the Senate today made a number of bill changes, including those that seek to speed up the implementation and give Ohioans immediate access to the drug. A chief complaint of the House-passed bill among medical marijuana proponents was Ohioans would have to wait for up to two years before getting access to the drug while regulations, farms and distributors were established. The latest version of the bill, accepted in Senate committee on Wednesday, allows patients to obtain medical marijuana from out of state via prescription in forms legal under the bill, before the system is fully established in Ohio. [continues 547 words]
Because the people of Ohio will support the medical marijuana bill, I hope they are ready to build more rehabilitation facilities when more people turn to heroin. When you ask these people who use heroin, they tell you they got started with marijuana. Now they say it is only for medicinal purposes, but everybody knows people will be using it for recreational purposes, and more people will be dying from heroin. And we will still be losing the battle. So people of Ohio, if you vote for marijuana, you will find a lot of room at the cemeteries. Perrysburg [end]
With a proposed constitutional amendment on the horizon, the House voted 71-26 on Tuesday to potentially make Ohio the 26th state to give residents legal access to medical marijuana. Some members expressed reluctance about the bill - a vote on which would have been near unfathomable just a few years ago - but after hearing of the drug's benefits and facing the prospect of a less-restrictive constitutional amendment on the November ballot, the bill was sent to the Senate. Hearings will start this morning. [continues 716 words]
COLUMBUS - In the biggest shift in state drug policy in decades, the Ohio House voted 71-26 on Tuesday to legalize marijuana for medical use only. The bill heads to the Senate, where hearings will begin today. Republican House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger voiced confidence that a bill could reach Gov. John Kasich's desk before the General Assembly recesses for the summer before Memorial Day. Kasich spokesman Joe Andrews said the governor has not committed to signing this bill, but would sign one if it "is written properly and there is a need for it." [continues 722 words]
Detective Discusses Epidemic During Senior Coffee Hour Waging a war on drugs in Lorain County hasn't been an easy task and there's still plenty of work to be done, according to Detective Gregg Mehling with the Lorain County Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force. Mehling visited the Lorain Public Library System's Columbia Branch, 13824 W. River Road North in Columbia Station, on May 9 for the monthly Senior Coffee Hour to talk about the growing heroin problem in the county and what he considers to be a tremendous health emergency. [continues 524 words]
You might not like President Barack Obama's political philosophy or leadership style, but you have to admit that he is one cool president. If you're unconvinced, consider his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 30. His poise and charm were on full display, and his comedic timing was impeccable. Still, his best joke made me cringe a little: He said that his popularity rating had been rising. In fact, he said, "The last time I was this high, I was trying to decide on my major." [continues 608 words]
Society Goes From Racist Approach to Empathy. The Rev. Mike Starks witnessed the destruction of crack cocaine, but not from the sidelines - he was a self-described gangster and drug addict before he became a minister. The Akron community activist recalls authorities responding to the epidemic, which is said to have lasted from 1984 to the early 1990s, with the all-out War on Drugs. Lawmakers enacted mandatory prison sentences for dealers. Stories in the media blamed addicts for their choices and told of gang-ravaged inner cities. [continues 865 words]
It looks as if legalization of medical marijuana will come this year, either through pending legislation or through two possible ballot issues to amend the Ohio Constitution. But the Ohio House is larding its bill with unpopular restrictions instead of crafting a plainly worded compromise sufficient to kill the more-extreme ballot issues. Many proponents of medical marijuana insist that smoking be one of the ways it can be used. But, unlike both ballot issues, House Bill 523 would require those with a marijuana prescription to use vaporization or other devices if they wish to inhale. The bill also would prohibit home-grown marijuana, which the ballot issues would allow in limited quantities. [continues 423 words]
WAVERLY, Ohio - Sure, some people grow marijuana in Pike County. And, yes, some people nurture the tender plants near clearings where the sunshine will hit them and where a water source - generally the Scioto River or one of its feeder creeks - is readily available. Increasingly often, though, people are moving their operations indoors, adding grow lights and irrigation to keep it all under roof, hidden from nosy neighbors and men and women with badges. This is not just a Pike County problem. Growing marijuana as a cash crop isn't uncommon in Appalachian communities, where the land is fertile and the opportunity to make money doing something else often isn't. [continues 1033 words]
The Ohio House could make history Tuesday by approving legislation to legalize medical marijuana. While state lawmakers have considered marijuana legislation in the past, no proposal has ever made it out of committee and to the full House for a vote. House Bill 523 was approved by a special committee Thursday faster than you can say "tetrahydrocannabinol," the chemical in marijuana that produces the "high" when smoking or ingesting it. It also provides pain relief, soothes seizures and increases appetite. There were two minor amendments and no discussion. [continues 539 words]
Ohioans could not legally smoke medical marijuana under a revamped proposal being rolled out today by state legislators. Those with a prescription for medical marijuana would be allowed to use vaporization or other inhalant devices. But the new restriction in the legislation, targeted for a House vote Tuesday, probably sets up a public battle with supporters of proposed November ballot issues that would allow smoking. Rep. Kirk Schuring of Canton, who was set to brief his fellow GOP House members Tuesday night on the revised measure, said he hopes the special committee he chairs approves the new plan Thursday after seeing it for the first time today. After House passage, Schuring said, he is optimistic the Senate and Kasich administration will quickly approve Ohio becoming the 25th state to legalize medical marijuana. [continues 263 words]
Q What should I know about driving and using marijuana in Ohio? A Ohio law prohibits four acts related to marijuana ingestion and vehicle operation. First, the law prohibits you from operating a vehicle while under the influence of marijuana. Second, the law prohibits you from operating a vehicle if you have a certain concentration of marijuana in your blood (2 nanograms or more per milliliter) or urine (10 nanograms or more per milliliter). Third, the law prohibits you from operating a vehicle with a certain concentration of marijuana metabolite in your blood (50 nanograms or more per milliliter) or urine (35 nanograms or more per milliliter). Fourth, the law prohibits you from operating a vehicle while under the influence of marijuana and while having a certain concentration of marijuana metabolite in your blood (5 nanograms or more per milliliter) or urine (15 nanograms or more per milliliter). [continues 543 words]