Zanesville, Ohio Medical Marijuana is legal in the state of Ohio, however the restrictions on a patient obtaining medical marijuana is one of the strictest.
The voters in Ohio have made medical marijuana legal, and now Ohio is setting their rules and regulations for the new program. Muskingum Behavioral Healths, Steve Carrel said medical marijuana will have both good and bad side effects depending on the person.
There arent a whole lot of really bad things that could happen, Carrel said. Youre not going to overdose, Ive never seen an overdose, but you can hurt yourself, because your lack of judgement. Judgement is one of the first things that goes, with any medicated drug that changes the way we feel.
Carrel said Ohio is currently trying to study the effects while making the restrictions and a big portion of the study hasnt been done yet.
My opinion is [marijuana] should have been studied already, Carrel said. The general governments ban on studying the effects of marijuana and [Tetrahydrocannabinol] should never have been at the levels that they were. We should have these answers already.
The Marijuana Policy Program is starting September 2018. Doctors will be able to recommend a patient as long as the patient has one of the 20 medical conditions listed. However, according to Carrel, doctors can only recommend they cannot prescribe medical marijuana for its still considered a federally illegal substance.
Carrel thought there was a possibility that Ohios conservative nature can set the bar for other states that are currently thinking about legalizing marijuana for medical use.
The Ohio State Board of Pharmacy has released the rules on obtaining medical marijuana and public comment is taking place through March 10, 2017. Some of the strict rules include patients only get four to six ounces of plant material or marijuana for a 90-day period. Whereas other states allow over seven ounces with T.H.C. Ohio will limit the amount of dispensaries and growers and also how the product is packaged.
There was a real emphasis on making sure how ever this is packaged is not attractive to kids, Carrel said. Theyre not allowed to have cartoon characters, candy look-a-likes, or fruit shapes. Child resistant packaging is going to be required.
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Full Article: Medical Marijuana Meeting Strict Regulations
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