Ohio Governor Kasich’s presidential campaign went up in smoke.  So did his opposition to marijuana legalization in the medical context when he recently signed into law Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Act (“OMMA”).  He went from unartfully quibbling with Stephen Colbert about marijuana’s “problem” despite seemingly not being harmed by his own admitted usee to making Ohio the 26th state to enact medical-marijuana legislation.  (To read more about the medical marijuana laws in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, please see our articles here and here).  But there is no smoke or fire in OMMA, both literally in the sense that smoking remains a banned form of consumption, and metaphorically for employers who wish to continue to treat marijuana as a banned substance in the workplace.

OMMA goes into effect in early September.  Under the law, individuals diagnosed with a “qualifying medical condition,” who have registered with the State Board of Pharmacy are permitted to use certain forms of medical marijuana for medicinal purposes.  As mentioned above, do not expect Harold and Kumar to have smoke billowing from their car at a White Castle drive-thru any time soon though, as OMMA explicitly prohibits smoking or other combustion of pot.  Rather, patients are only permitted to use oils, tinctures, plant materials, edibles, patches, or any other form approved by the State Board of Pharmacy, including vaporization.
Continue Reading No Smoke or Fire in New Ohio Medical Marijuana Act