Medical Marijuana in Ohio

News:

2020 SUBMISSION PERIOD TO ADD QUALIFYING CONDITIONS

Each year, the State Medical Board of Ohio is tasked with reviewing petitions for new qualifying medical conditions for the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. The 2020 submission period will be open from November 1, 2020 until December 31, 2020. Click here to submit a petition.

 

Program Overview:

Current Program Numbers (October 2020)

Cultivators

19 Level I provisional licenses

11 Provisional licensees have received Certificates of Operation

14 Level II provisional licenses

13 Provisional licensees have received Certificates of Operation

 

Dispensaries

57 Provisional licenses

52 Provisional licensees have received a Certificate of Operation

 

Patients & Caregivers (as of 12/01/2023)

The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy published updated patient & caregiver numbers for October 2023. These numbers include:

864,090 Recommendations
403,452 Registered patients

23,557 Patients with Veteran Status
24,509 Patients with Indigent Status
1,390 Patients with a Terminal Diagnosis

178,703 Patients with both an active registration and an active recommendation

  • 369,587* Unique patients who purchased medical marijuana (*as of 8/31/2023, as reported to OARRS by licensed dispensaries)

37,580 Registered Caregivers

For the full list of program numbers, please visit the Program Update page.

Physicians (as of 10/15/2020)

662 Certificates to Recommend

Processors

48 provisional licenses

24 Provisional licensees have received Certificates of Operation

Testing

6 Provisional licenses

3 Provisional licensees have received Certificates of Operation

Background

House Bill 523, effective on September 8, 2016, legalizes medical marijuana in Ohio. The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (MMCP) under the Ohio Department of Commerce will allow people with certain medical conditions, upon the recommendation of an Ohio-licensed physician certified by the State Medical Board, to purchase and use medical marijuana.

Regulatory Updates

Rules for processors and dispensaries were finalized on July 31, 2017 with final rules published on August 14, 2017.

Patients and Caregivers

Patient ID cards will be issued by the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy once the state’s patient registry becomes available no later than September 2018.

Physicians may recommend medical marijuana to patients for the following qualifying medical conditions under Ohio’s medical marijuana law:

  • HIV/AIDS,
  • ALS
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Cancer
  • Chronic traumatic encephalopathy
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Epilepsy or another seizure disorder
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Glaucoma
  • Hepatitis C
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Sickle cell anemia
  • Spinal cord disease or injury
  • Tourette’s syndrome
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Ulcerative colitis

In addition to the above conditions, the law authorizes an individual to petition the Medical Board to add a disease or condition to the list of qualifying medical conditions. The petition process for adding new conditions is still under development by the MMCP.

For a full list of research related to the above Ohio-approved conditions, please refer to our conditions and research guide.

Cultivators

Ohio law provides for two classes of cultivators. “Level I cultivators” are cultivators permitted to operate up to twenty-five thousand square footage of space designated as the marijuana cultivation area in the application. “Level II cultivators” are cultivators permitted to operate up to three thousand square footage of space designated as the marijuana cultivation area in the application.

The Department of Commerce may award up to 12 Level I cultivator licenses and up to 12 Level II cultivator licenses prior to September 9, 2018. Level II cultivator applications will be accepted June 5-16, 2017, and Level I cultivator applications will be accepted June 19-30, 2017.

Processors

The Department may issue up to 40 processor provisional licenses prior to September 9, 2018. The processor application fee is $10,000 and the certificate of operation fee is $90,000; a processor annual license renewal fee is $100,000.

Ohio law also provides for “plant-only processors” – cultivators licensed by the Department for the limited purposes of packaging, selling, and delivering finished plant material directly to a licensed dispensary for sale to a patient or caregiver.

Laboratories

For one year following the date on which the Department of Commerce begins accepting applications, licenses issued to conduct laboratory testing of medical marijuana will only be granted to institutions of higher education that are public, located within the state of Ohio, and have the resources and facilities necessary to conduct testing in accordance with the rules. After this one-year period, which expires June 5, 2018, the Department will issue licenses to qualified private testing labs. The laboratory application fee is $2,000 and the certificate of operation fee is $18,000; a laboratory annual license renewal fee is $20,000. There is no limit to the number of testing laboratory licenses that may be awarded by the Department.

Retail Dispensaries

Administrative rules are still under development by the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy, which will establish the standards and procedures, including application procedures, fees, number of available licenses, timing, application instructions, and renewal requirements for licensed retail dispensary operations.

Timeline for Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Program

The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program has issued the following timeline for implementation of its medical marijuana program:

 

DISCLAIMER

Cannabis Law Solutions attorneys are licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. Cannabis Law Solutions attorneys serve Ohio clients on a non-legal consulting basis. Cannabis Law Solutions does not provide legal advice to clients regarding Ohio law.