Ohio AG approves medical marijuana language

By Marc Kovac | March 26, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

Attorney General Mike DeWine has signed off on petition language for a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing the use of medical marijuana in the state.

DeWine’s certification Friday afternoon was a required first step for Ohioans for Medical Marijuana. Backers next must complete a review by the state Ballot Board before they can begin circulating petitions. Afterward, they will need to collect in excess of 305,000 valid signatures from registered voters to place the issue on the ballot.

The amendment calls for the legalization of medical marijuana for debilitating conditions, including “cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, autism with aggressive or self-injurious behaviors, sickle cell anemia, severe fibromyalgia, spinal cord disease, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury or post-concussion syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease.”

Physicians would have to sign off on patients’ use, and users would have to obtain state-issued medical marijuana ID cards. A new state commission would develop rules for the issuance of IDs and licenses for related businesses.

The language also caps the number of larger-scale marijuana-cultivation sites and makes provisions for home-grown plants for users.

The Marijuana Policy Project resubmitted the proposal after the attorney general rejected the first version of the amendment language.

DeWine approved the second submission, offering in a statement, “Without passing upon the advisability of the approval or rejection of the measure to be referred, … I hereby certify that the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the proposed law.”

“We’re pleased with the attorney general’s determination and appreciate his guidance during this process,” Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement. “Ohio is one step closer to adopting a sensible medical-marijuana law that ensures seriously ill people have safe and legal access to their medicine. We’re looking forward to hearing back from the secretary of state and getting our petition drive started as soon as possible.”

The state Ballot Board will call a meeting within 10 days to complete its review.