Medical Marijuana in Ohio: What conditions qualify?

It would be nice if the state of Ohio legalized medical marijuana for every single medical condition that causes chronic pain. Yet, only a handful of maladies qualify for treatment with this miracle plant. If there is a silver lining in the state’s somewhat stringent medical marijuana law, it lies in the fact that our wounded warriors who suffer form post-traumatic stress disorder will be able to legally treat their condition with highly potent medical strains of marijuana.

Ohio Medical Marijuana Basics

Ohioans with qualifying medical conditions will be able to legally treat their maladies with medical marijuana beginning on September 8, 2016. The state’s medical marijuana program was recently signed into law by Ohio Governor John Kasich. His signature made Ohio the 25th state to legalize medical cannabis program, making this powerful herb available to upwards of 175 million Americans.  This figure represents more than one-half of the United States’ entire population.

Unfortunately, it will likely take two years for Ohio’s medical marijuana program to be rolled out in its full capacity on a statewide scale. Plenty of Ohioans are disappointed by the fact that they will not be able to enjoy their medical marijuana with a joint, blunt, bowl or bong. They will be limited to vaporizing medical weed as state officials are adamant that allowing residents to smoke marijuana is analogous to an endorsement of smoking tobacco. It is certainly highly flawed logic yet, Ohioans should take solace in the fact that they will soon be able to treat many of their health problems with pain-relieving medical marijuana.

Ohio’s Qualifying Conditions for Medical Marijuana

The state has specified a relatively short list of qualifying medical conditions that are eligible to be treated with medical marijuana.

Qualifying conditions are as follows:

• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Epilepsy or a seizure disorder of another variety
• Crohn’s Disease
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Tourette’s Syndrome
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Fibromyalgia
• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Also known as AIDS/HIV)
• Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy – Better known by the acronym of “CTE”, this degenerative disease has been found in numerous ex-football players, as well as those who have participated in other contact-heavy sports.
• Sickle Cell Anemia
• Chronic Pain
• Severe Pain
• Intractable Pain
• Spinal Cord Diseases
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
• Hepatitis C

It is important to note that Ohio’s state medical board is empowered to add any other medical condition or disease to this list of qualifying conditions/diseases across posterity. Section 4731.302 of the Revised Code allows for such an addition.

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