One year remains for Ohio to finalize medical marijuana, HPIO releases resource page

In one year, Ohioans with qualifying health conditions, by law, will be able to buy medical marijuana, but there is still a considerable amount of state activity that must take place before that can happen (Source: “Ohio medical marijuana programs faces much work with one year to go,” Canton Repository, Sept. 10, 2017)

As required by House Bill 523, the medical marijuana law approved last year by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. John Kasich, hundreds of new rules had to be in place by Sept. 8, 2017. The law requires that the program must be up and running, with medical marijuana available to patients, on Sept. 8, 2018.

Given the recent adoption of the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program's final regulations, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released its Medical Marijuana in Ohio resource page. The resource page includes descriptions of House Bill 523, state regulations of marijuana growth, distribution and use, and state vs. federal legal consideration. The resource page also includes resources on the health and policy implications of changes in marijuana use.

Meeting the one-year deadline will be a challenge. The 24 growers won’t be picked until November, and there is much work to be done after that in 10 months: building secure indoor growing facilities; growing and harvesting marijuana crops, which takes 13 to 14 weeks; processing marijuana into approved products; testing products for purity, quality and content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); distribution to dispensaries; and, finally, sale to customers.