by: Enzo Schillaci

Medical marijuana has been legal in Ohio since 2016, but proponents of further reform argue that the current program isn’t inclusive enough. The new bill to amend the existing rules was proposed by state senator Stephen Huffman who is also a medical professional.

The Senate Bill 261 that was introduced last week seeks to extend the number of conditions that are eligible to be treated with cannabis. The current law includes only 25 ailments, but the new bill proposes to add another six: arthritis, migraines, spasticity or chronic muscle spasms, autism, and opioid use disorder. Another category of patients that would be included in the new program are the terminally ill and those in hospice care.

The recreational use of marijuana is legal in neighboring Michigan. But in Ohio, you are not allowed to smoke weed for recreational purposes or even buy cannabis seeds to grow a few plants yourself. You need to be an authorized medical patient for that.

Arguably the most significant change proposed in the new bill would allow physicians to prescribe cannabis to anyone if they think the treatment would benefit that person in any way.

Mary Jane Borden from Ohio Rights Group said that this clause should have been in the law all along. According to her, there exist many rare diseases, and it isn’t possible to specifically mention them all. The decision should simply be a doctor’s discretion.

Robert Kowalski, a U.S. Air Force veteran, welcomes any initiatives to liberalize current medical marijuana laws in Ohio. He knows firsthand what a difference the medicine can make. He used to take 22 different pills a day to combat PTSD, depression, and several other conditions that he brought home after his two combat tours in Iraq.

Marijuana use allowed him to stop taking all those medicines and feel better, but the 33-year-old veteran was discharged from the military because of that. Nevertheless, Kowalski is among the lucky ones because his PTSD diagnosis is included in the list of qualifying conditions in Ohio and allowed him to join the medical marijuana program.

At the same time, he knows a lot of people with conditions that are not on the list, including his fellow veterans. Though they served their country, they don’t get access to the medicine that may help them maintain jobs, improve the quality of life, and not be regarded as ticking human time bombs. For them, a more inclusive medical marijuana bill is urgently needed.

The new proposal also tackles various business issues. It would, among other things, increase the number of licensed dispensaries and allow growers to build bigger facilities. These measures are meant to drive down prices and make the medicine more accessible.

A greater number of licenses would also ensure that patients don’t have to spend hours on the road to the nearest dispensary. And permitting drive-through or curbside pickup of the purchases would make life easier for disabled customers. 

While the majority of Ohioans support cannabis use for therapeutic purposes, the idea also faces opposition from groups like the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). Though several observational studies suggest that the passing of marijuana legalization laws by states leads to the reduction of opioid overdoses, ASAM isn’t convinced. They maintain that the evidence is lacking and that it isn’t a good idea to substitute one addictive substance with another one.

Similarly, Fran Gerbig from Prevention Action Alliance believes that the language of the new bill is too broad and could entrench the perception that cannabis is an acceptable treatment for almost any condition.