While the new Ohio law legalizing medical marijuana takes effect in nine days, rules and regulations for the use of pot are clear as mud.
Two experts on the topic agreed Tuesday no one knows how the rules and regulations will shake out over the next two years.
Rules and regulations
Tony Coder, assistant director of Drug Free Action Alliance, was one of those experts speaking on the topic at Findlay Inn and Conference Center in Findlay. He explained the specific rules and regulations for legal medical marijuana use will be set in the future by Ohios Medical Marijuana Controlling Board.
Earlier this year, the state legislature passed House Bill 523 outlining general law on the topic. That bill, which takes effect Sept. 8, also established the Controlling Board, and one of its first orders of business is to put into place the specific rules and regulations on medical pot.
The state has until September 2018 to fully establish (the rules and regulations), Coder said. Until then, anyone charged with using marijuana for medical use has an affirmative defense for using it.
Having an affirmative defense means if the person charged can prove to a court they have a legitimate medical use for marijuana, they could be found not guilty.
This is all a very, very gray area right now. The (state) legislature is nervous about it, the governor is nervous about it, and the (state officials) are nervous about it, Coder explained.
The new law outlines several medical conditions for which medical pot may be recommended by a doctor. Those conditions include AIDS, ALS, Alzheimers disease, cancer, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and pain that is chronic and severe.
Source of purchase
The bigger issue is where they are to going to obtain it until all the rules and regulations have been adopted, Coder noted. He pointed out federal law prohibits anyone from transporting pot across state lines, even from states such as Michigan, where medical marijuana has been legalized.
That leaves only illegal sources, such as street corner drug dealers, for those wanting it, even for legitimate medical purposes, Coder told the group.
Any doctor who wants to approve a recommendation for someone to use medical marijuana will have to wait for the rules and regulations to be put into place. Physicians have to take a four-hour course on it before they can issue any recommendations, Coder said, emphasizing a recommendation is not the same thing as a prescription. He also noted a doctor cant recommend pot use for their self or for any member of the family.
Although doctors would be issuing recommendations and not prescriptions for medical pot, those recommendations and purchases of medical pot will still be tracked through a national database, the same one used to track opioid prescriptions and dispensing.
Who is making the rules?
Coder explained there will be three state agencies involved in the process of regulating medical marijuana.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy will oversee the majority of the medical issues, the Ohio Department of Commerce will oversee the business side, and the State Medical Board will oversee doctors participation in the program.
Those who want to use pot for pain control will face challenges, Coder noted.
Its hard to prove or disprove pain, or to measure it (objectively) and recommend the right dosage. Those who may have glaucoma may want to use it, but to keep ocular pressures at acceptable levels, a person would have to be high almost all the time. Its not good for those pressures to go up and down.
No smoking
Only certain forms of pot will be legal, Coder said, none of them in smoke form. Persons will not be allowed to grow their own marijuana plants, even for medical use. Using marijuana oils, persons can bake it into things such as cake and cookies, but the most common form will likely be other forms of edibles. It is also possible medical pot may be able to be inhaled by vaping, which may be considered different than smoking it.
While the legislation prohibits edibles that are enticing to children and teens, no one knows what that will mean until the rules and regulations are put into place.
There is already a line of thought by some that because vitamins are available in the form of gummy bears, medical marijuana should be allowed in the same form.
Sacred ground
The new law does not prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from obtaining a recommendation for medical pot, but public schools risk losing federal funding if allowed on school grounds.
Because marijuana use of any kind is still a federal offense, banks have not been allowed to accept cash, checks, or credit card transactions from marijuana sales at any level.
To get around these difficulties, the state will allow liquor stores and Bureau of Motor Vehicles deputy registrars to accept money that will be put into a special account that would be drawn from to buy medical pot.
So, the same place you go to get your drivers license and license plates renewed will be the same place you can put your money into these special accounts, Coder said, referring to BMV deputy registrars offices. Were not sure how this is going to work because its never been done this way anywhere else.
and more concerns
Communities that want to prohibit dispensaries from setting up shop in their areas can do so, Coder noted. In cities and villages, governing bodies, such as city councils, can pass an ordinance to block dispensaries.
Other unknowns include limits on advertising and pot prices. Those issues will also be decided by the Controlling Board.
While the green light has been given by the state legislature for the legal use of medical marijuana, those who want to benefit from it may need to put on the brakes, at least for now, as they are facing a yellow caution light or even a red stop light until the rules are posted.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Medical Pot Is Legal Here In Nine Days
Author: Ron Craig
Contact: (419) 435-6641
Photo Credit: Ted S. Warren
Website: Review Times
