WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general is an outspoken foe of efforts to legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes - and that has some wondering what it means for the 28 states that have legalized marijuana in some form. Those states include Ohio, which is in the process of working on regulations for its own medical marijuana legalization. Aaron Marshall, a spokesman for Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, said his hope remains with Trump, who has repeatedly said he supports leaving marijuana legalization efforts to the states. [continues 772 words]
COLUMBUS - In a case closely watched by law enforcement statewide, a sharply divided Ohio Supreme Court on Friday said prosecutors must prove the weight of the actual cocaine - and not fillers - to get stiffer sentences in drug busts. For Rafael Gonzales, 58, convicted in Wood County in 2012 of first-degree felony cocaine possession, the 4-3 decision means his 11-year sentence could be slashed to one. Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger, writing for the majority, said state law's definition of "cocaine" does not provide for fillers such as baking soda. [continues 675 words]
Health officials in Lucas County are working to get the area's first needle exchange program up and running by the spring. Health officials in Lucas County are working to get the area's first needle exchange program up and running by the spring, adding another weapon to their arsenal in the fight against the heroin and opioid epidemic. Toledo will be the last large metro area in Ohio to adopt such an exchange. Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati all have them, as do the smaller cities of Dayton and Portsmouth. Such programs aim to decrease the likelihood of spreading HIV or hepatitis C among users who share needles. [continues 1072 words]
Findlay City Council made sure to give its two-year moratorium on medical marijuana a final vote Tuesday, but tabled legislation that would continue funding for the Arts Partnership of Greater Hancock County through the city's hotel/motel bed tax. Council voted 9-1 to enact a ban on dispensing, cultivating or processing medical marijuana within city limits until Sept. 8, 2018. That will be exactly two years from the date the Ohio Legislature legalized the drug. Council plans to revisit the ban once state officials establish rules, which is expected to take at least two years. [continues 360 words]
CINCINNATI - On the day he almost died, John Hatmaker bought a packet of Oreos and some ruby-red Swedish Fish at the corner store for his 5-year-old son. He was walking home when he spotted a man who used to sell him heroin. Mr. Hatmaker, 29, had overdosed seven times in the four years he had been addicted to pain pills and heroin. But he hoped he was past all that. He had planned to spend that Saturday afternoon, Aug. 27, showing his son the motorcycles and enjoying the music at a prayer rally for Hope Over Heroin in this region stricken by soaring rates of drug overdoses and opioid deaths. [continues 1006 words]
Council Moving for Medical Marijuana Moratorium With the term medical marijuana buzzing around, Avon Lake City Council's safety committee moved along a moratorium to a collective committee meeting during its meeting Aug. 24. "A number of communities are doing this to allow for the dust to settle," said Safety Committee Chair David Kos, adding that they want to see how everything will land in place and how it will take effect. Mayor Greg Zilka agreed with Kos that a lot of communities are taking action to give them some breathing room. [continues 317 words]
President Barack Obama has said he considers marijuana no more dangerous than alcohol. More than three years ago, he said he had "bigger fish to fry" than targeting pot smokers in states that permit recreational use. Federal officials remain in a haze when it comes to articulating a comprehensible policy on marijuana. Perhaps last week's ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals curtailing the feds from prosecuting legitimate growers and distributors will help clear the air. Half the nation's states, led by California, permit medicinal applications. Four states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use. In November, California could become the fifth. [continues 374 words]
Six-Month Measure Needed to Evaluate Issue, City Officials Say. MIAMISBURG - Miamisburg is moving to become the latest Miami Valley community to place a temporary ban on medical marijuana. The city is considering a six-month ban on issuing and processing "any permits allowing retail dispensaries, cultivators, or processors of marijuana" in the city, according to a proposed ordinance. Last month Beavercreek City Council approved a similar measure while Troy voted in favor of a 180-day moratorium. Those cities' actions and the measure before Miamisburg City Council tonight follow Gov. John Kasich's signing in June of a bill that allows medical marijuana to be prescribed for certain ailments. [continues 287 words]
COLUMBUS (AP) - An Ohio board that oversees attorney conduct said Thursday that attorneys aren't allowed to help someone establish a legal medical marijuana-related business in the state because using, growing and selling marijuana remains a federal crime. The state Supreme Court's Board of Professional Conduct also said Ohio attorneys aren't legally permitted to use medical marijuana or to be personally involved in related businesses. Attorneys sought the opinion to determine whether a law barring employers from disciplining professionals from working with marijuana businesses applies to lawyers [continues 250 words]
Sheffield Village Council will discuss Aug. 15 whether to prohibit the cultivation, processing and retail dispensing of marijuana for medical use in all its zoning districts during its regular meeting. Mayor John Hunter said the Council also will have another option: a moratorium for up to six months. Hunter said there is the moratorium for six months option because this will give the Village Council and the planning commission to review all Ohio statutes, criminal codes and the Village's zoning code. [continues 262 words]
The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department will soon begin a local needle exchange program aimed at preventing intravenous drug users from contracting HIV or Hepatitis C. The health board voted unanimously Thursday in support of starting a program which will be administered at two local sites. Both the Talbot Center, a drug addiction recovery center in East Toledo, and St. Paul United Methodist Church downtown have agreed to be access points for the exchanges, said Kelly Burkholder-Allen, acting director of health services. [continues 553 words]
(AP) - Apparently unconstitutional portions of Ohio's medical marijuana law, which set aside a percentage of the state's pot licenses for minorities, were spotted during legislative debate but left in the bill to gain needed votes, a key lawmaker says. State Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, said legally prickly provisions exposed by The Associated Press in June may require changes. The law takes effect Sept. 8, at which point a new panel will begin laying out a blueprint for how the new industry will work. [continues 254 words]
State Still Working on Rules for Medical Pot Dispensaries LIBERTY TWP. - Liberty Twp. officials plan to ban or place a moratorium on medical marijuana businesses while various state agencies work on rules for the new law that allows the drug. After a failed attempt at legalizing marijuana both for recreational and medical use, the state legislature and Gov. John Kasich signed into law a measure that will allow it only for medicinal purposes. State Sen. Bill Coley, R-West Chester Twp., met with trustees Tuesday in a work session to discuss the new legislation. He encouraged them to place a moratorium on the medical drug while they figure out how they want to tackle the issue. [continues 495 words]
It's not your grandfather's war on drugs. It can't be. Over the years, we've watched police officers and agencies fight the good fight. Get the bad guys off the streets. We've also watched as the fight changed and law enforcement leaders, who see the casualties from the front line in the drug war, became advocates for recovery. They still have to do their jobs: enforce the state's drug laws. But police agencies are now out front in a different way. [continues 114 words]
Ohio Supreme Court Board Asked to Weigh In. Attorneys are asking whether Ohio's new medical marijuana law that bars employers from disciplining professionals from working with marijuana businesses applies to them. Lawyers have submitted at least two requests for formal opinions on the matter to the state Supreme Court's Board of Professional Conduct. Only the state's high court can discipline licensed attorneys. Attorneys want to know whether lawyers can use medical marijuana, own or operate medical marijuana businesses and represent marijuana cultivators, processors, dispensaries, patients and caregivers. The new medical marijuana law bars professional license holders from being disciplined "solely for engaging in professional or occupational activities related to medical marijuana." [continues 208 words]
WASHINGTON - When Sen. Rob Portman's campaign launched its first TV ads of 2016, it wasn't hard to sense a theme. The first ad focused on Portman's work to fight Ohio's drug crisis. The second told the story of Tyler Campbell, a young man from Pickerington who died of a heroin overdose. A third told of a Lakewood woman who is a recovering heroin addict. And a fourth told the story of a young woman from Carrollton who died of a heroin overdose. [continues 800 words]
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]
When the subject of legalizing marijuana comes up, there seems to be plenty of mixed emotions, clashing of opinion and even ambivalence of tolerance in our society. We generally disdain excessive use of alcohol and nicotine as anodynes - painkilling drugs or medicines - but a rigid line is drawn between hedonistic marijuana use and an almost Calvinistic condemnation of the drug. Currently, we understand that 25 states, including Ohio, allow the use of marijuana for the relief of chronic pain, and just four states for "recreational" escape. [continues 129 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]
NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio - Nicholas DiMarco was 18 when he died from a dose or heroin laced with fentanyl. He left behind a grief-stricken father tormented by questions. "The biggest mistake that I made I looked at my son and I thought of it as a rational, normal person," Fred DiMarco said. "I was like, well he's going to quit. If he doesn't quit, he's going to go to prison for three years. Who would take that risk? He's going to quit. It's killing people. Who would take something that's going to kill them?" [continues 605 words]
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]
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]
Inside Ohio
