Title:
Add another: Rep. Yuko introduces medical marijuana bill in Ohio
Message:
It’s been a banner year for medical marijuana in 2010, and it continues to get better. Rep. Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights) has introduced HB 478, which would allow patients whose doctors recommend it to possess roughly 7 ounces of marijuana or grow up to 12 plants for their own medical use without fear of arrest. The bill would also allow patients to designate caregivers to assist with administration of marijuana or cultivation on their behalf if the patient is unable to do so themselves.
Please send your Ohio legislators a note encouraging them to consider this compassionate proposal.
As proposed, the bill would allow a patient with a specifically listed condition (including HIV/AIDS, cancer, and Crohn’s disease), or a condition that produces certain symptoms such as wasting syndrome or severe muscle spasms, to obtain a certification from his or her doctor which he or she could then use to obtain a registry ID card from the Ohio Department of Health. In addition to those specifically listed conditions, the statute also creates a process for petitioning the Department of Health to add new conditions or treatments to the list of qualifying conditions.
For many supporters, such as Dawn Dunlap, this bill represents the potential for some semblance of normalcy. Dunlap suffers from a brittle bone disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta, which has led to over 100 broken bones and unimaginable pain. Marijuana, however, reduces her pain and gives her the mobility to go about her life. Of course, under current Ohio law, Dunlap is considered a criminal.
You can change all that by asking your legislators to support HB 478. When you’re done, go ahead and forward this on to some friends so they can do the same.
