Medical marijuana could be on its way back to the Ohio ballot this November, after the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) revealed the details for its initiative Mar. 1, created alongside Ohioans for Medical Marijuana (OMM).
The initiative, which can be read online creates a state Medical Marijuana Control Division (MMCD) to oversee and license medical marijuana growers and dispensaries. No member of the board would be allowed to have an interest in any medical marijuana establishment. According to the website, the bill would also:
-License 15 large cultivation facilities up to 25,000 square feet each
-Allow for additional licensing of small cultivation facilities of up to 5,000 square feet each
-Create a confidential online registry of qualifying patients and caregivers, with ID cards
-Prevent some discrimination protection for patients in school, housing and parental rights solely for cardholder status
-Allow qualifying patients to cultivate their own medical marijuana, with limits
-Continue restrictions on public use of marijuana and driving under the influence
-Allow local governments to control dispensary hours and locations
-Allow local governments to prohibit sale altogether, after a voter referendum.
From the start, the initiative lists 17 conditions covered for medical marijuana, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, Alzheimer’s disease, PTSD, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and others. The initiative would allow parents or legal guardians to purchase and administer medical marijuana to children suffering from epileptic seizures and other conditions if approved by a physician.
If the initiative passes, it would go into effect no later than January 2017. Patients would be able to begin submitting applications for ID cards as early as August 2017, according to Rob Kampia, executive director of MPP. The MMCD would begin accepting applications for large grows, manufacturers and testing facilities in August. 2017.
OMM and MPP need to collect signatures to move the initiative forward toward a state constitutional amendment on the ballot this November. Ohio would become the 24th state to legalize medical marijuana.
A second group, Grassroots Ohio, also announced plans for a November medical marijuana constitutional amendment Mar. 3. The amendment does not establish a regulatory structure, and allows farmers to grow industrial hemp, according to a Cleveland.com article. The group will propose that structure through a citizen-initiated statute, according to Cassie Young, Grassroots Ohio spokesperson, and will submit the initiative language to the attorney general within the next week.
Ohio’s cannabis legalization Issue 3 last year was voted down 63-36.
Editor’s note: Cher Neufer and Danielle Vitale-O’Brien of Ohio NORML broke down the Issue 3 defeat and what lessons could be learned in their guest column from our January/February issue. Read it here.
