Robert Celt
New Member
Medical marijuana advocates Tuesday urged lawmakers to allow for home-growing to keep costs down and to provide a bridge for patients during the roughly two years between a law's passage and the first legal sale at a dispensary.
House Bill 523 would limit patient access to pot to licensed retail dispensaries while most states with legal medical marijuana allowed patients to grow a small number of plants for their own use.
"Restricting patients to a dispensary with high overhead costs rather than the ability to have some home-grown increases the price of the medicine, making the medicine unaffordable for many of the patients," said Janet Breneman, a registered nurse speaking on behalf of the Ohio Cannabis Nurses Association.
"Personal cultivation would allow patients not only access to strains most beneficial to their medical condition but also to the raw cannabis plant for juicing," she said. She said it would also allow patients to grow rarer strains that might not be carried by dispensaries.
But Nick Lashutka, president and CEO of the Ohio Children's Hospital Association, urged the House Select Committee on Medical Marijuana to keep the home-grown prohibition.
"We feel that if home-grown were allowed to occur, it would have a significant child safety risk, and we've seen some of that evidence in other states that have gone down this path," he said.
Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus has been actively involved in medical marijuana research in relation to child epilepsy. But Mr. Lashutka repeated that there is still little evidence supporting the effectiveness of marijuana as medicine.
Sponsored by Rep. Stephen Huffman (R., Tipp City), an emergency room physician, the bill would only allow physicians registered with the state to recommend pot products for patients and would tightly control cultivation, processing, testing, and sale of marijuana for that purpose only.
Supporters of home-grown pot said the prohibition in the House bill will drive support to the competing ballot issues while critics argued it could lead to patients illegally selling excess product to others for recreational use.
State Rep. Tim Brown (R., Bowling Green), a committee member, said the fact that the General Assembly is considering a bill is not necessarily an indication that it has decided there is medical value and is safe over the long run.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ohio: Advocates Want Home-Growing For Medical Pot
Author: Jim Provance
Contact: The Blade
Photo Credit: MLive
Website: The Blade
House Bill 523 would limit patient access to pot to licensed retail dispensaries while most states with legal medical marijuana allowed patients to grow a small number of plants for their own use.
"Restricting patients to a dispensary with high overhead costs rather than the ability to have some home-grown increases the price of the medicine, making the medicine unaffordable for many of the patients," said Janet Breneman, a registered nurse speaking on behalf of the Ohio Cannabis Nurses Association.
"Personal cultivation would allow patients not only access to strains most beneficial to their medical condition but also to the raw cannabis plant for juicing," she said. She said it would also allow patients to grow rarer strains that might not be carried by dispensaries.
But Nick Lashutka, president and CEO of the Ohio Children's Hospital Association, urged the House Select Committee on Medical Marijuana to keep the home-grown prohibition.
"We feel that if home-grown were allowed to occur, it would have a significant child safety risk, and we've seen some of that evidence in other states that have gone down this path," he said.
Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus has been actively involved in medical marijuana research in relation to child epilepsy. But Mr. Lashutka repeated that there is still little evidence supporting the effectiveness of marijuana as medicine.
Sponsored by Rep. Stephen Huffman (R., Tipp City), an emergency room physician, the bill would only allow physicians registered with the state to recommend pot products for patients and would tightly control cultivation, processing, testing, and sale of marijuana for that purpose only.
Supporters of home-grown pot said the prohibition in the House bill will drive support to the competing ballot issues while critics argued it could lead to patients illegally selling excess product to others for recreational use.
State Rep. Tim Brown (R., Bowling Green), a committee member, said the fact that the General Assembly is considering a bill is not necessarily an indication that it has decided there is medical value and is safe over the long run.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ohio: Advocates Want Home-Growing For Medical Pot
Author: Jim Provance
Contact: The Blade
Photo Credit: MLive
Website: The Blade
