Ohio is a state that makes my heart very heavy. There are suffering patients there, and getting them a quality medical marijuana program is proving to be a tough task. There are efforts to get an initiative on the ballot for medical marijuana, but time is definitely an issue to gather the required signatures by the deadline. Today Ohio Senator Kenny Yuko announced his plans to introduce a medical marijuana bill. Per Cleveland.Com:
Sen. Kenny Yuko, a Richmond Heights Democrat, told cleveland.com he plans to introduce a bill in the next few weeks based on medical marijuana laws in 23 other states and the District of Columbia. People with specified medical conditions, including seizure disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, could buy and consume marijuana if approved by a doctor who has a history of treating the patient.
Yuko gave no other details about the bill, including who might grow the marijuana for the program. He said the bill is a starting point and he hopes his Senate colleagues will weigh in on the bill so it can be passed before June.
It sounds like Senator Yuko has been giving some sneak peaks at the bill, and that the feedback is favorable. I am glad to see that PTSD was specifically included in the plans, but very disappointed to see that there will be a doctor-patient duration of treatment requirement. I literally just had to go to a secondary doctor (OMMC, they were awesome!) in order to get my medical marijuana paperwork signed off on this weekend because my primary physician refuses to even consider such an idea.
I’ve been going to my primary doctor since I was a kid, and he knows very good and well that I have very painful arthritis in my foot because he’s the one that diagnosed me with it. I don’t want to switch my primary doctor because I’m comfortable with my current doctor in every other area of my care. However, I have the benefit of living in a state that has a medical marijuana program that allows me to keep my primary doctor, yet still get access to the Oregon program. But that’s in Oregon. I can’t imagine how much harder it would be in Ohio, especially when the proposed program would be first starting out. We shall see what happens when Senator Yuko introduces his bill, and where the conversation goes from there.
