Ohio board could vote on adding new conditions for medical pot

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s Medical Board is scheduled to vote on adding anxiety and autism spectrum disorder to the state’s list of qualifying conditions for purchasing medical marijuana.

A panel of physicians last month recommended the medical board add the two conditions to the current list of 21 for which registered physicians can make a patient recommendation for medical marijuana use.

The board today also is scheduled to consider adding opioid-use disorder, depression and insomnia as qualifying conditions, which the physician panel voted against after consulting with experts.

Many of the online petitions the board received about adding conditions sought to use cannabis for anxiety.

Medical marijuana became available for sale in Ohio in January. About one-third of the 56 dispensaries licensed by the state have opened.