Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
At 11, Lucy Scholten fights for her life. She experiences epileptic seizures every day, and she contends with cerebral palsy. She has tried more than a dozen medications to ease her symptoms, to no avail. The next step, said her mother Nicole Scholten, should be medical marijuana.
But the answer, Scholten said, is not full legalization as envisioned by a group of wealthy investors called ResponsibleOhio. Lucy and other children with catastrophic illness would not be protected under ResponsibleOhio's proposed constitutional amendment, Scholten said.
"Patients who need medicine should be first in line ahead of people who want to use recreationally," she said. "It's irresponsible to pass recreational laws without a strong medical program in place."
On Nov. 3, Ohio voters will probably consider at least one marijuana legalization proposal on the ballot. The likeliest contender is ResponsibleOhio's proposed constitutional amendment. The language would establish 10 farms around the state that would grow marijuana for sale in medical dispensaries and retail stores. Home growers may get a $50 license to raise four plants at a time only for personal use.
Of the amendment's 12 clauses, two concern cannabis as medicine. Doctors would be allowed to certify patients to use the drug "in a manner similar to (Ohio's) regulation of medical prescriptions." Minors could use cannabis as medicine only with the permission of a parent or guardian.
A regulatory Marijuana Control Commission would license nonprofit dispensaries to sell medical cannabis. A fund could also be created to help low-income patients pay for the drug.
Scholten and Theresa Daniello are co-directors of Ohio Families CANN, an advocacy group formed last summer with about 50 Ohio families with children sick with epilepsy and other serious illnesses. They said they have many reservations about the ResponsibleOhio proposal.
"We certainly question that the limited grow facilities would secure the necessary quantities," Scholten said. "There's no requirement for those facilities to grow the necessary medical strains. There are far too many questions, as far as I'm concerned, and we need the guarantee of safe, sustainable, high-quality lab-tested medicine."
Daniello said the most medically effective plants "are very slow-growing, low-yield plants that take a lot of space. The concern we have is that the people crafting the amendment don't know this. It's not going to be profitable to grow these plants. It'll be more profitable to grow recreational strains, which will leave the patient out."
Scholten, Daniello and Bob Bridges, executive director of another advocacy group, Ohio Patients CANN, expressed concern that the ResponsibleOhio amendment, if enacted, would not sufficiently protect patients in the rush of legalization.
Bridges' organization has offered substitute language for a state House bill, introduced by Rep. Wes Retherford of Hamilton in February. That measure would allow patients to use oil derived from cannabis plants but does not provide a way for patients to obtain the oil. Bridges' group would broaden that legislation.
"My main focus strictly is to make sure patients get access," Bridges said, "and that they're not punished for having the medication they need."
Lydia Bolander, a spokeswoman for ResponsibleOhio, said legalization is the fastest way to allow everyone, including the sick, to get marijuana. Legalization "would bring affordable and high-quality medical marijuana to Ohio within the next few years, along with tightly regulating and taxing marijuana for personal use. This proposal is the best option for Ohioans to reform our failed marijuana prohibition and replace it with a safe, responsible market for legal marijuana."
Another cannabis organization, Ohio Rights Group, already has at least 150,000 signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would allow for safe access to medical marijuana and that patients would not be arrested or prosecuted for possession or discriminated against for using medical cannabis. Patients would also be protected from having parental rights or gun ownership taken for using medical marijuana.
"That's what needs to happen fast," said John Pardee, the group's president. The efforts of Ohio Rights Group to gain more signatures to put its measure on the ballot are booming, he said, thanks to the ResponsibleOhio push.
"A lot of people are frightened of that initiative," he said, "especially people who want safe access to quality cannabis and people who want to be engaged in this commerce going forward."
Yet Pardee said he's torn: "I don't want to be critical of a group that's trying to end prohibition. But by the same token, it really doesn't feel — and their language doesn't reflect — that they're in it for anything other than profit."
Yet even if the ResponsibleOhio amendment passes, "People will still be going to jail for cannabis, and patients will still struggle to find affordable quality medicine. That's really unfortunate."
Bridges, Daniello and Scholten also said that just as critical as safe access is a medical education program on the endocannabinoid system, which contributes to regulation of the central nervous system and some bodily organs. The psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, acts on this system.
Research suggests that medical cannabis, working on the endocannabinoid system, can be therapeutic for mood disorders and anxiety, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and cancer, among other illnesses.
Bridges also noted that some families are moving from Ohio to states that have medical marijuana programs. The Benton family of Liberty Township, with a sick daughter, left Ohio for good last month to settle in Colorado and obtain a regular supply of a cannabis oil that has successfully treated other children
"We have children suffering here in Ohio," Bridges said, "and to deny access to medicine that will ease the suffering and will cure them is unconscionable."
Nicole Scholten, an art teacher, has left her job to take care of her daughter Lucy full-time. Witnessing her child's daily seizures, often numbering 100 or more, Scholten became an accidental activist for medical cannabis.
"Lucy is a kid with profound challenges, with profound developmental delay. A neurologist has told us that if we had been able to stop her seizures at an early age, she would likely have led a different life," Scholten said. "And that's the opportunity for kids like Lucy and for future generations that I'm working on."
What The Amendment Says About Medical Marijuana
The group ResponsibleOhio has proposed a constitutional amendment for the November ballot that would legalize marijuana. Clauses B and C of the amendment cover the use of medical marijuana:
(B) Use of Medical Marijuana for Debilitating Medical Conditions
It is lawful for patients with debilitating medical conditions to acquire, administer, purchase, possess, transport, and use, and for licensed caregivers to acquire, administer, purchase, possess, transport and transfer, medical marijuana pursuant to a valid medical marijuana certification. The state shall regulate the conduct of physicians in issuing medical marijuana certifications in a manner similar to its regulation of medical prescriptions. A treating physician who has examined a patient and determined that he or she has a debilitating medical condition may issue a medical marijuana certification if: (1) a bona fide physician-patient relationship exists; (2) the physician determines the risk of the patient's use of medical marijuana is reasonable in light of the potential benefit; and (3) the physician has explained the risks and benefits of using medical marijuana to the patient. If the patient is younger than 18 years of age, treatment involving medical marijuana may not be provided without consent by at least one custodial parent, guardian, conservator, or other person with lawful authority to consent to the patient's medical treatment.
No agency, including a law enforcement agency, of this state or of a political subdivision of this state may initiate an administrative, civil, or criminal investigation of a physician, nor shall a physician be denied any right or privilege or be subject to any disciplinary action, solely on the ground that the physician: (1) discussed with a patient the use of medical marijuana as a treatment option; or (2) issued a medical marijuana certification under this section, or otherwise made a written or oral statement that, in the physician's professional opinion, the potential benefits of the patient using medical marijuana would likely outweigh any health risks.
(C) Establishment of Medical Marijuana Not-For-Profit Dispensaries
Medical marijuana shall only be dispensed and sold to patients and caregivers by not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries licensed under this section, in accordance with a medical marijuana certification issued by the patient's current treating physician, who shall exercise the same professional care, ethics and judgment in doing so as is required in issuing medical prescriptions.
The (Marijuana Control) Commission shall issue licenses to, and shall promulgate and enforce regulations governing the operations of, not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries. Such regulations shall include rules regarding the number of licenses within any political subdivision of the state. The Commission shall promulgate the initial regulatory rules for such dispensaries by May 30th of the year following adoption of this section.
MGCE (marijuana growth, cultivation and extraction ) facilities and MPM (marijuana product manufacturing) facilities shall sell to the dispensaries, at their lowest wholesale prices, medical marijuana and medical marijuana-infused products, respectively, sufficient to satisfy patient demand for them in this state.
From the Marijuana Control Commission Fund established herein, the Commission may fund the reasonable and necessary operating costs of the not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries and establish a program to provide low-cost medical marijuana to qualifying patients who are unable to afford the full cost. Nothing in this section, however, shall require any health insurance provider or any government agency or authority to reimburse any patient for expenses related to the use of medical marijuana.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Advocates: Legalization could hurt medical marijuana
Author: Anne Saker
Contact: asaker@enquirer.com
Photo Credit: Amanda Rossmann
Website: Cincinnati Enquirer
But the answer, Scholten said, is not full legalization as envisioned by a group of wealthy investors called ResponsibleOhio. Lucy and other children with catastrophic illness would not be protected under ResponsibleOhio's proposed constitutional amendment, Scholten said.
"Patients who need medicine should be first in line ahead of people who want to use recreationally," she said. "It's irresponsible to pass recreational laws without a strong medical program in place."
On Nov. 3, Ohio voters will probably consider at least one marijuana legalization proposal on the ballot. The likeliest contender is ResponsibleOhio's proposed constitutional amendment. The language would establish 10 farms around the state that would grow marijuana for sale in medical dispensaries and retail stores. Home growers may get a $50 license to raise four plants at a time only for personal use.
Of the amendment's 12 clauses, two concern cannabis as medicine. Doctors would be allowed to certify patients to use the drug "in a manner similar to (Ohio's) regulation of medical prescriptions." Minors could use cannabis as medicine only with the permission of a parent or guardian.
A regulatory Marijuana Control Commission would license nonprofit dispensaries to sell medical cannabis. A fund could also be created to help low-income patients pay for the drug.
Scholten and Theresa Daniello are co-directors of Ohio Families CANN, an advocacy group formed last summer with about 50 Ohio families with children sick with epilepsy and other serious illnesses. They said they have many reservations about the ResponsibleOhio proposal.
"We certainly question that the limited grow facilities would secure the necessary quantities," Scholten said. "There's no requirement for those facilities to grow the necessary medical strains. There are far too many questions, as far as I'm concerned, and we need the guarantee of safe, sustainable, high-quality lab-tested medicine."
Daniello said the most medically effective plants "are very slow-growing, low-yield plants that take a lot of space. The concern we have is that the people crafting the amendment don't know this. It's not going to be profitable to grow these plants. It'll be more profitable to grow recreational strains, which will leave the patient out."
Scholten, Daniello and Bob Bridges, executive director of another advocacy group, Ohio Patients CANN, expressed concern that the ResponsibleOhio amendment, if enacted, would not sufficiently protect patients in the rush of legalization.
Bridges' organization has offered substitute language for a state House bill, introduced by Rep. Wes Retherford of Hamilton in February. That measure would allow patients to use oil derived from cannabis plants but does not provide a way for patients to obtain the oil. Bridges' group would broaden that legislation.
"My main focus strictly is to make sure patients get access," Bridges said, "and that they're not punished for having the medication they need."
Lydia Bolander, a spokeswoman for ResponsibleOhio, said legalization is the fastest way to allow everyone, including the sick, to get marijuana. Legalization "would bring affordable and high-quality medical marijuana to Ohio within the next few years, along with tightly regulating and taxing marijuana for personal use. This proposal is the best option for Ohioans to reform our failed marijuana prohibition and replace it with a safe, responsible market for legal marijuana."
Another cannabis organization, Ohio Rights Group, already has at least 150,000 signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would allow for safe access to medical marijuana and that patients would not be arrested or prosecuted for possession or discriminated against for using medical cannabis. Patients would also be protected from having parental rights or gun ownership taken for using medical marijuana.
"That's what needs to happen fast," said John Pardee, the group's president. The efforts of Ohio Rights Group to gain more signatures to put its measure on the ballot are booming, he said, thanks to the ResponsibleOhio push.
"A lot of people are frightened of that initiative," he said, "especially people who want safe access to quality cannabis and people who want to be engaged in this commerce going forward."
Yet Pardee said he's torn: "I don't want to be critical of a group that's trying to end prohibition. But by the same token, it really doesn't feel — and their language doesn't reflect — that they're in it for anything other than profit."
Yet even if the ResponsibleOhio amendment passes, "People will still be going to jail for cannabis, and patients will still struggle to find affordable quality medicine. That's really unfortunate."
Bridges, Daniello and Scholten also said that just as critical as safe access is a medical education program on the endocannabinoid system, which contributes to regulation of the central nervous system and some bodily organs. The psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, acts on this system.
Research suggests that medical cannabis, working on the endocannabinoid system, can be therapeutic for mood disorders and anxiety, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and cancer, among other illnesses.
Bridges also noted that some families are moving from Ohio to states that have medical marijuana programs. The Benton family of Liberty Township, with a sick daughter, left Ohio for good last month to settle in Colorado and obtain a regular supply of a cannabis oil that has successfully treated other children
"We have children suffering here in Ohio," Bridges said, "and to deny access to medicine that will ease the suffering and will cure them is unconscionable."
Nicole Scholten, an art teacher, has left her job to take care of her daughter Lucy full-time. Witnessing her child's daily seizures, often numbering 100 or more, Scholten became an accidental activist for medical cannabis.
"Lucy is a kid with profound challenges, with profound developmental delay. A neurologist has told us that if we had been able to stop her seizures at an early age, she would likely have led a different life," Scholten said. "And that's the opportunity for kids like Lucy and for future generations that I'm working on."
What The Amendment Says About Medical Marijuana
The group ResponsibleOhio has proposed a constitutional amendment for the November ballot that would legalize marijuana. Clauses B and C of the amendment cover the use of medical marijuana:
(B) Use of Medical Marijuana for Debilitating Medical Conditions
It is lawful for patients with debilitating medical conditions to acquire, administer, purchase, possess, transport, and use, and for licensed caregivers to acquire, administer, purchase, possess, transport and transfer, medical marijuana pursuant to a valid medical marijuana certification. The state shall regulate the conduct of physicians in issuing medical marijuana certifications in a manner similar to its regulation of medical prescriptions. A treating physician who has examined a patient and determined that he or she has a debilitating medical condition may issue a medical marijuana certification if: (1) a bona fide physician-patient relationship exists; (2) the physician determines the risk of the patient's use of medical marijuana is reasonable in light of the potential benefit; and (3) the physician has explained the risks and benefits of using medical marijuana to the patient. If the patient is younger than 18 years of age, treatment involving medical marijuana may not be provided without consent by at least one custodial parent, guardian, conservator, or other person with lawful authority to consent to the patient's medical treatment.
No agency, including a law enforcement agency, of this state or of a political subdivision of this state may initiate an administrative, civil, or criminal investigation of a physician, nor shall a physician be denied any right or privilege or be subject to any disciplinary action, solely on the ground that the physician: (1) discussed with a patient the use of medical marijuana as a treatment option; or (2) issued a medical marijuana certification under this section, or otherwise made a written or oral statement that, in the physician's professional opinion, the potential benefits of the patient using medical marijuana would likely outweigh any health risks.
(C) Establishment of Medical Marijuana Not-For-Profit Dispensaries
Medical marijuana shall only be dispensed and sold to patients and caregivers by not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries licensed under this section, in accordance with a medical marijuana certification issued by the patient's current treating physician, who shall exercise the same professional care, ethics and judgment in doing so as is required in issuing medical prescriptions.
The (Marijuana Control) Commission shall issue licenses to, and shall promulgate and enforce regulations governing the operations of, not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries. Such regulations shall include rules regarding the number of licenses within any political subdivision of the state. The Commission shall promulgate the initial regulatory rules for such dispensaries by May 30th of the year following adoption of this section.
MGCE (marijuana growth, cultivation and extraction ) facilities and MPM (marijuana product manufacturing) facilities shall sell to the dispensaries, at their lowest wholesale prices, medical marijuana and medical marijuana-infused products, respectively, sufficient to satisfy patient demand for them in this state.
From the Marijuana Control Commission Fund established herein, the Commission may fund the reasonable and necessary operating costs of the not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries and establish a program to provide low-cost medical marijuana to qualifying patients who are unable to afford the full cost. Nothing in this section, however, shall require any health insurance provider or any government agency or authority to reimburse any patient for expenses related to the use of medical marijuana.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Advocates: Legalization could hurt medical marijuana
Author: Anne Saker
Contact: asaker@enquirer.com
Photo Credit: Amanda Rossmann
Website: Cincinnati Enquirer
