COLUMBUS – The Ohio Senate plans to begin hearings Wednesday on a proposal to legalize medical marijuana in the state.
The measure was approved 71-26 by Ohio House Tuesday.
The fast-tracked bill would bar patients from smoking the substance but allow them to use it in vapor form. They couldn’t grow it at home.
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.
Rep. Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City) an emergency department doctor and sponsor of the bill, noted that members heard about children prescribed marijuana who went from 300 seizures a day to five, and how it helped a veteran with his post-traumatic stress disorder.
“This is what this bill is all about, which is the patients,” he said. “I am absolutely convinced there is therapeutic value in medical marijuana.”
Under the legislation, a nine-member Medical Marijuana Control Commission would set rules for cultivating, distributing and licensing cannabis. Communities could opt out of hosting dispensaries. Employers who want to maintain drug-free workplaces would be protected from liability.
House leaders said they expect the legislation to reach to the governor’s desk by the end of May.
A new poll released Wednesday morning shows the overwhelming support for medical marijuana in Ohio and voters’ antipathy toward legalizing pot for recreational use.
The Quinnipiac University poll shows 90 percent of Ohio voters are in of legalizing the use of medical marijuana with all age, gender and racial groups giving the idea at least an 82 percent approval.
The margin of support — 52 to 45 percent – was much narrower for allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use.
Lawmakers are seeking to head off a proposed November ballot issue supported by the national medical marijuana movement, which criticized the legislation for restricting access and making it difficult to dispense.
“Today’s vote will only bring false hope and empty promises to Ohioans suffering from debilitating conditions who need medical marijuana.” said Aaron Marshall, spokesman for Ohioans for Medical Marijuana.
Marshall says the bill restricts patient access and the two years it will take to implement is too long. He says the bill also leaves many critical decisions to the commission, which Marshall says could be “stacked with persons openly hostile to medical marijuana.”