Breaking it down: As Ohio medical marijuana law takes effect, many questions remain
COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio has yet to outline how exactly its new medical marijuana law will work even as it is set to take effect Thursday, leaving a host of unanswered questions by doctors, patients, pharmacists, police and many others.
Rules for producing, prescribing and distributing cannabis to eligible patients are expected to take up to a year to craft.
Ohio is the 25th state to legalize medical marijuana. Its law was fast-tracked by a Republican-controlled Legislature after it appeared all but inevitable voters would do it if lawmakers didnt.
The narrow law has an implementation schedule thats slower than in some other states.
How soon real access comes, remains to be seen. The program isnt required to be fully operational until September 2018.
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UNCERTAINTY ABOUNDS
The law allows people with certain listed ailments including AIDS, Alzheimers, cancer, PTSD and pain to begin using marijuana immediately. But its unclear where they would legally get it.
Cultivators, processors, dispensaries and testing laboratories have yet to get their marching orders. And about a dozen mostly small communities have declared moratoriums on dispensaries that could affect access even after the rules are written.
The law is here but that doesnt mean that patients are going to be able to get marijuana any time soon, said Aaron Marshall, of Ohioans for Legal Medical Marijuana.
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DOCTORS IN LIMBO, WORKPLACES IN FLUX
The state Medical Board has yet to issue guidance to doctors for recommending marijuana to patients.
Doctors really are in limbo, said Reginald Fields, a spokesman for the Ohio State Medical Association. Theres a little confusion out there, so were essentially asking physicians to stand by until some of these issues are clarified and we can assure theyre acting on the right side of the law.
Meanwhile, it could be a new world at work. Private or public sector employers arent required to abandon drug testing or zero-tolerance policies, yet employees have new rights under the law to use marijuana in oil, edible, patch and vapor form. Smoking is still prohibited.
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NAVIGATING FEDERAL LAW
The clash between Ohios law and a federal prohibition against the drug further muddies the waters for police and prosecutors, poses complications as patients move through airports and prevents banks from touching marijuana-related cash.
Our members are in an untenable position, said James Thurston, of the Ohio Bankers League. There are businesses that want banking services, but we cant legally provide banking services to those businesses.
He said doing so would violate a laundry list ...
