Ohio Lawmakers pass Medical Marijuana Bill

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on May 26, 2016.

In a major development to legalize marijuana for medical use in Ohio, the lawmakers of the state on Wednesday passed a bill by a vote of 18-15. The measure is now sent to Republican Governor John Kasich.

Kasich has said he would support the medical marijuana bill if doctors led on the issue. The bill will automatically become a law, if the Governor doesn't sign it in the stipulated time. The law will be effective 90 days after Kasich signs, likely sometime in early September.

According to the new measure, people with one of about two dozen qualifying medical conditions could buy and use marijuana if recommended by their physician. The medical conditions include cancer, seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury among others. However, patients could not smoke or grow their own marijuana.

During the last few years, state legislatures and voters in the US have been much more receptive to making the use of marijuana legal for medical purposes than for recreational use.

Ohio will become the 25th state in the US to legalize medical marijuana.

As many as 24 states have already legalized marijuana for medical use, while four states such as Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington along with Washington, D.C. legalized marijuana for recreational use. However, medical marijuana still remains illegal on the federal level.

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