On Sept. 8, 2016, House Bill 523 began to take effect, making medical marijuana legal to consume in the state of Ohio. However, there are a lot of restrictions on the use of the drug within the bill, as well as within the city of Bexley and on Capital’s campus.
Statewide
Ohio House Bill 523 was signed and effectively made law in June 2016, making Ohio the 26th state to do so.
The first part of the law, which took effect on Sept. 8, 2016, allows those with certain medical conditions to purchase marijuana in states where the medical use of the drug is already legal and bring it back here for use in accordance with Ohio’s law.
The sale and growth of the plant in Ohio may take as long as two years to start, and the bill does not allow citizens to grow their own marijuana.
Those selling the drug must have a specific license, and the sale will be overseen by the Ohio Department of Commerce.
The Ohio Department of Pharmacy will be responsible for determining dosage, handling dispensary licensure and certifying caregivers to administer the treatment. They will also be in charge of setting up a system to reduce the cost of marijuana so that veterans and those with limited income will be able to receive this treatment.
The bill gives the Ohio State Medical Board the power certify physicians to prescribe medical marijuana as a treatment.
House Bill 523 also gives a specific list of medical conditions that would qualify a patient to obtain medical marijuana in the state. Medical conditions not on the list must be approved and added to the list by the Ohio State Medical Board before they can receive the treatment.
In Bexley
Any use of medical marijuana must be in accordance with Ohio’s laws, but Bexley itself is considering implementing a 24-month moratorium and keep dispensaries out of Bexley for the time being in order to see how the system works in other cities. This would not affect consumption of the drug as long as it fit within state laws.
Ordinance 36-16, if passed, would prohibit the sale or growth marijuana anywhere in the city for a period of 24 months. The ordinance also says that businesses wishing to sell or grow marijuana would not be able to apply for building or zoning permits during this moratorium.
The ordinance also clarifies that businesses already in Bexley would not be allowed to expand in any way that would allow the sale or growth of medical marijuana.
While this moratorium is only supposed to last 24 months, it could last much longer. Some moratoriums automatically expire after the period specified, but this ordinance states that in order for the ban to be lifted, city council must vote to do so.
Within the proposed ordinance, it says that Bexley would declare this a medical emergency, and that the city believes this is in the best interest of the health and safety of the citizens of Bexley.
At Capital
Marijuana of any kind has always been prohibited on Capital’s campus and Frank Fernandez, Chief of Capital’s police department, says the institution hasn’t fully decided how to handle issues of medical marijuana now that it is legal in Ohio.
He said that before the institution can decide how to handle the use of marijuana on campus, all parts of House Bill 523 must be in effect.
For now, though, marijuana of all kinds is still prohibited. Fernandez says the drug could remain prohibited on campus, despite Ohio’s bill legalizing it, due to the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988. This act states that any organization receiving federal grants or contracts must be free of illegal drug activity. At the national level, marijuana is still considered an illegal substance.
That being said, it may be a while before we see exactly how Capital will deal with medical marijuana on campus.
