MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Ohioans May Get to Decide Legality With 2012 Vote

Marijuana could be grown and used for medical purposes under a state
constitutional amendment Ohio voters may consider in 2012.

The Ohio Alternative Treatment Act recently met initial criteria to
allow supporters to begin collecting the more than 385,000 signatures
needed to place the issue on the 2012 general election ballot.

The amendment would allow medical practitioners in a "bona fide
practitioner-patient relationship" to recommend cannabis as a
treatment for qualifying medical conditions. These would include
cancer, AIDS, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and
other diseases, conditions or treatments that produce severe nausea,
pain or muscle spasms.

Marietta resident Delmar Thomas, 77, said the proposal sounds fine to him.

"I'd go for that," he said. "As long as it's controlled and used for
pain, I don't see anything wrong with it."

Meanwhile, Connie Brannan, 50, of Marietta has her doubts.

"I think there are other ways to handle the medical issues," she said.

The concept gives Marietta resident Pat Ralston, 59, pause because of
concerns about abuse and addiction, but she said she would want to
learn more about it before making up her mind.

"I definitely want to read into it more," she said.

The amendment would allow patients to possess no more than 3.5 ounces
of usable cannabis and 12 cannabis plants if they are growing their
own. A caregiver or safe access center could grow the plants for a
patient but that individual or location must be registered with the
state. The possession limits for a caregiver are 3.5 ounces of usable
cannabis or 12 plants for each patient with whom he or she is connected.

Safe access centers could have no more than 12 cannabis per patient
or caregiver with whom they are registered. Local governments could
control the locations of these centers through zoning.

The issue is being backed by the Ohio Patient Network, a group of
patients, activists, caregivers and medical professionals. The
group's president, Tonya Davis, 48, of Kettering, said supporters
have tried for nearly a decade to get the Ohio General Assembly to
pass a law allowing marijuana for medicinal purposes, but to no avail.

"They don't have the backbone to do this for us or the courage to do
this for us, so we're going to take this to the people," she said.

Davis said she has been diagnosed with pseudohypoparathyroidism, a
genetic condition in which the body does not recognize the production
of a hormone that controls calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D levels.
Treatment has resulted in calcium deposits forming on her brain,
leading to severe headaches and risk of dementia and organ shutdown.
That and other conditions contribute to chronic pain, she said.

Davis said she does not use marijuana recreationally, but, with the
approval of doctors, she has used it to relieve her pain. She
believes it can help protect her brain from further damage as well.

"If there's a chance at it, I deserve that chance," Davis said.

Davis said she does not buy, sell or grow marijuana "because I don't
want my doors kicked in." She said friends have provided it for her
and its use has kept her from turning to OxyContin or pain patches.
She said Marinol, a prescription drug containing a synthetic form of
THC, the main active cannabinoid in marijuana, does not work for her.

According to the National Cancer Institute, research has shown
marijuana can help in relieving pain, stimulating appetite and even
inhibiting tumor growth. There have been some clinical trials
involving marijuana's use in treating side effects of cancer
treatment but not treatment of cancer itself.

While two cannabinoids, active chemicals in cannabis, have been
approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for the
treatment of chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting, cannabis
itself is not approved for treatment of cancer or its side effects.

A position paper from the Drug-Free Action Alliance and the Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Prevention Association of Ohio notes that while the
American Medical Association has called for more research into
potential therapeutic benefits of cannabinoid-based medicine, the
AMA, FDA and most other national medical groups do not support the
use of smoked marijuana as medicine. The group says the FDA, not
voters, should determine whether marijuana is an acceptable medication.

As a member of the prevention association, the Right Path for
Washington County, an organization dedicated to promoting healthy
youth development, will be asked to oppose the amendment, said Cathy
Harper, Right Path coordinator. Harper said some of the chemicals in
smoked marijuana are carcinogenic and legalizing it, even for
medicinal purposes, could send mixed messages to children.

Davis bristled at the idea that passage of the amendment would make
marijuana more accessible to children.

"If I put it into the hands of a kid, then I deserve to go to jail," she said.

The amendment contains specific language saying it does not prohibit
any penalties for providing cannabis to a minor or exposing a minor
to secondhand smoke from cannabis.

Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks said medical use of marijuana
may have been claimed by some people who were the subjects of
investigation by his office or the Major Crimes Task Force but it's
never been substantiated.

Mincks said he is opposed to the amendment and believes it would fail
on the ballot.

"I don't think people want to legalize marijuana. I think you have a
minority of people out there who already smoke it and want to
legalize it," he said.

Davis pointed to a 2009 University of Cincinnati poll that found 73
percent of Ohioans either "strongly" or "somewhat" favored allowing
doctors in the state to prescribe medical marijuana and said she's
confident the amendment would pass in a statewide vote.

As the medical director for the Ohio chapter of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Davis does favor the
legalization of marijuana, which she calls a crime without a victim.
But she said that day is a long way off and for now she and others
are focusing on making it available to people who need it for medical reasons.