Yesterday officials announced that medical marijuana is now technically legal in the state of Ohio. This is surely great news for people that will benefit from this form of medication, however patients will still have a hard time getting it for sometime.
For the next month, Governor John Kasich and his team will be assebling an advisory committee to oversee any and all operations regarding Ohio's new medical marijuana law. After all of the members of the advisory committee are established, various state departments will begin writing rules and regulations for the cannabis testing facilities, dispensaries and anyone who plans to grow marijuana plants. The state of Ohio now has two years to get all of the necessary procedures and systems in place.
From seed to plant, the pot will be tracked and monitored by the Pharmacy Board, Medical board and The Commerce Department. It will take about a year for these groups to implement a system for this type of monitoring and regulation.
With this new law in affect, you still are unable to bring medical marijuana back to Ohio (as this is a federal crime) from another state and smoking the cannabis is also still illegal. The marijuana will have to be administered in another form. You will also need to obtain a doctor's recommendation to get your hands on the cannabis.
One aspect of the medical marijuana law is already in complete effect and it is called "affirmative defense". This will allow anyone who is caught with marijuana to fight the possession charges in court if they have a doctor's recommendation for the use of cannabis.
A member of The Ohio Cannabis Association, Brian Wright stated, "The last thing we need is patients getting in trouble for things like that. We're getting there but obviously the state has a lot to do to get the right pieces in place."
So as you can see, the newly passed marijuana law still has a ways to go before people can really start to benefit from it. The outcome of many recent medical marijuana studies have truly shined a positive light on the plant that was once shunned and forbidden.
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