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Medical Marijuana: Is An Ohio Initiative In the Works?

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #499)
Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy

With the effort to get a medical marijuana initiative on the 2008 ballot in Michigan well underway, reform proponents are now eying next door Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday. The newspaper said the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is weighing its options in the Buckeye State.

"Ohio would be a state worth considering, certainly a high priority. It would be a question of timing," said Edward Orlett, a former Democratic state legislator who represents DPA in Ohio.

DPA sponsored a 2002 Ohio initiative that would have mandated treatment instead of incarceration for many drug offenders. It was defeated 2-to-1 at the polls after the state's Republican political establishment campaigned against it, but now Ohio legislators are pondering passing a bill that would do basically the same thing.

A medical marijuana initiative effort in Ohio would likely attract the interest of Cleveland-based Peter Lewis, the chairman and former CEO of Progressive Insurance, and a major contributor to marijuana reform efforts who gives millions of dollars each year to the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

MPP has awarded a startup grant to the Ohio Patient Network, a Columbus-based group that supports medical marijuana, the newspaper reported.

Twelve states have enacted laws allowing for the medicinal use of marijuana. None of them are in the Midwest.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

i am 28 years old my name is scott dever , i have suffered two heart attacks and a double stroke . i feal the only reason marijuana is illeagal is because the goverment makes to much money on it now to change . god put it on this planet for a reason , just like every thing moderation is the key . a guy can go to the bar and get so drunk he can not walk and this is ok , but if a guy with blinding headaches smokes he can go to jail ? what is wrong with our country ?!! it is time to change , regulate it and tax it just like booz . i have never heard or read of a violent crime because of pot , but my neibor was drunk last night threatening his wife ? we need to rethink what is wrong and what is right ! if something is not working fix it , don't sit back and say well that's the way it is ! i hope in my life i see a change , it is long over due !!!!!!!! truthfully Scott T Dever

Fri, 05/23/2008 - 10:10am Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

there is so many uses for marijuana. Its not only a stress reliever it has the potential for so many different things. It makes great clothing, it could be turned into fuel it puts out more oxygen than that of trees and many other plants, the list can go on and on and on. WHY IS NONE OF THIS RESEARCH POSTED. It could probably save our economy even.

just a thought lets be real Michael Tullis

Mon, 03/16/2009 - 11:27pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

I completely agree with what Michael says. There is such a plethora of uses for Cannabis, yet none of this information reaches the mainstream media and to the people! So if doctors shoot radioactive materials into cancer patients, and the patients DIE from radiation poisoning, it's ok because the doctors were "trying" their best. Really??? I think that's pretty close to mureder. Yet here is an amazing plant (with plenty of research to back it up) that can inhibit the growth and spreading of malignant cancer cells; even with the research there, people still don't know it!!!! The peole have spoke out loud across the country....change is inevitable.

SneedE

Wed, 05/13/2009 - 9:13am Permalink
Christian C. (not verified)

Hello,

I am a 16 year old kid that gets server migranes so bad it makes me Curl up in pain, it makes me sick to my stomach, So i tried Medicinal marijuana in cali and It really helped, now you might be thinking there goes another pot head, but i havent smoked it illegaly. So I fully support medicinal marijuana and its benifits to ADHD, ADD, Cancer, aids , and migrane patients. I am aslo ADHD and have been on methamphetamines and they have maid me feel like a Zobie for 11 years of my life. I was taking them and it would totally not let me feel the emotion happiness, so imagine sitting in a room and not being able to feel happy all day no matter what, but with medical cannibus it helped me focus on what we where doing, i could do school work on it and i would not get distacted , however it did slow my reaction time it really helped me in the long run. So i fully support Medicinal marijuana in Ohio!

Sincerely,
Christian

Fri, 04/16/2010 - 4:04pm Permalink
greenMSfighter (not verified)

If there is no medicinal use for mary jane , can someone please tell me a medicinal use for alcohol!! These laws put forth by that jack ass Ashcroft who says " its making black men commit sexually deviant acts toward whith woman!" For the record I'm a white dude ! This is a law from the past and should be treated as such ,, I hate alcohol! My wife is 29 and has Multiple Sclerosis ! She has turned to booze because we cannot receive her rebif shots due to our countrys shitty med. Ins. Which is a story for another day! These idiots on cap. hill should start to think of the welfare of its citizens instead of the welfare of there pocketbook!

Sun, 07/04/2010 - 12:24am Permalink

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