Ohio Becomes the 25th Medical Cannabis State
Yesterday, Ohio became the 25th state to legalize cannabis for medical use. Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 523 into law, without any comment. In doing so, our country has equaled the number of states that allow medical cannabis to the number of states that don’t.
State lawmakers passed HB-523 in May after years of delays. It could take as long as two years before Ohio develops its own medical cannabis system and patients begin seeing cannabis on shelves. Until then, patients are permitted to travel across state lines to obtain cannabis, edibles, oils, tinctures and vapors.
“I listened to Ohioans who talked very thoroughly and methodically about their realization that they or someone they love benefited from some form of medical marijuana,” State Representative Tim Brown told the Toledo Blade. “We heard from people with chronic pain and people who had sons and daughters who had numerous seizures a day. They were able to reduce those seizures dramatically by giving their sons and daughters a pill, oil, or a patch.”
HB-523 inched past the State Senate with an 18-15 vote, but cleared the State House easily with a 67-29 vote. The bill will take 90 days to take effect. The law mandates that licensed cultivators, processors, dispensaries and testing laboratories must not be within 500 feet of schools, churches and libraries. The Department of Commerce, Ohio Pharmacy Board and Ohio Medical Board will create rules and oversee the program.
The list of qualifying illnesses includes AIDS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Cancer, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Crohn’s Disease, Epilepsy or another seizure disorder, Fibromyalgia, Glaucoma, Hepatitis C, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable, Parkinson’s Disease, a positive status for HIV, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Sickle Cell Anemia, spinal cord disease or injury, Tourette’s Syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and Ulcerative Colitis.
The remaining rules and initial regulations will be ironed out by September 2017.
