Ohio Sen. Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights) will introduce legislation in the next few weeks that could establish a legal system for medical cannabis access in Ohio, he announced this week in an interview with Cleveland.com.
There are currently few details revealed about Sen. Yuko’s bill, but it has been specified that individuals with certain medical conditions — including severe epilepsy and post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) — would be allowed to use medical cannabis if issued a recommendation from a doctor who “has a history of treating the patient.”
“It’s a piece of legislation that most people who are reading it are finding palatable and are supportive of it,” said Sen. Yuko.
Ohio has recently become a hotbed for talks of cannabis reform, and following last year’s failure of a controversial recreational legalization push by the advocacy group ResponsibleOhio, the group teamed up with the Marijuana Policy Project on a medical cannabis initiative that is expected to appear on the ballot this November.
Approval ratings are generally very high for medical cannabis among Ohio voters — even Republicans in the legislature have announced hesitant support for reforming the state’s marijuana laws.
According to Sen. Yuko, his proposal would ideally be approved and pushed through by the time the legislative session ends in June, or else lawmakers wouldn’t be able to address the subject again before voters take control of the process come November.