Body and Mind’s Guide to Ohio Medical Marijuana Laws

Medical cannabis has been legal in Ohio since former Governor John Kasich signed Ohio’s House Bill 523 to create a medical marijuana program in 2016. The state officially began medical marijuana sales in January of 2019.

It’s important to understand that Ohio does not have full recreational legalization, so to use medical cannabis you’ll need to be a patient with one or more of the qualifying conditions to be granted an MMJ card in Ohio. We’ve put together a simple guide to Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Laws.

Qualifying Conditions

Ohio medical marijuana laws allow for the following medical conditions to participate in medicinal marijuana consumption:

• AIDS
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Cachexia, cancer
• Chronic traumatic encephalopathy
• Crohn’s disease
• Epilepsy or another seizure disorder
• Fibromyalgia
• Glaucoma
• Hepatitis C
• Huntington’s disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable
• Parkinson’s disease
• Positive status for HIV
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Sickle cell anemia
• Spasticity
• Spinal cord disease or injury
• Terminal illness
• Tourette syndrome
• Traumatic brain injury
• Ulcerative colitis

In February 2021, the State of Ohio Medical Board concluded that arthritis chronic migraines and complex region pain syndrome are conditions that are also covered as an existing qualifying condition, which are covered by pain that is either chronic or intractable.

Laws for Medical Users

Ohio’s medical cannabis law allows for oils, tinctures, capsules, edibles, metered oil or solid preparation for vaporization. It also allows patches for transdermal administration or lotions, creams, or ointments for topical administration; and plant material for administration with the use of vaporizing devices.

Much like neighboring Pennsylvania, Ohio prohibits medical marijuana by smoking or combustion but does allow for vaporization. You can still buy flower at dispensaries, but it’s safest to consume it in complete privacy.

Ohio law also prohibits any medical cannabis form that is attractive to children, so while still delicious, you won’t find any edibles that children would be attracted to in Ohio.

How much Medical Cannabis can I have?

Ohio MMJ law allows patients and caregivers to possess up to a 90-day supply at a given time. “What’s a 90-day supply?” you might ask…

Ohio’s Department of Health website explains what it considers to be a 90-day supply for the different forms of medical cannabis. Below are the prescribed amounts for flower, topicals, oils/capsules, and oil for vaporization:

Purchasing Limits

Qualified patients are allowed to purchase up to 90-days worth of medical marijuana within a 90-day period. Patients and caregivers can buy a combination of oils, tinctures, plant material, edibles and patches, but cannot exceed the aggregate total of a 90-day supply. Additionally, when making a purchase, a patient cannot buy less than a daily unit. Ohio defines a day’s unit as the following for each form of allowable medical cannabis:

• One-tenth of an ounce (two and eighty-three hundredths grams) of plant material
• Two-hundred ninety-five milligrams of THC contained in a patch, lotion, cream, or ointment
• One hundred ten milligrams of THC contained in an oil, tincture, capsule, or edible for oral administration
• Five hundred ninety milligrams of THC contained in oil for vaporization

Driving Under the Influence

In line with other states, Ohio law prohibits patients from operating any vehicles, streetcars, trackless trolleys, watercraft, or aircrafts while under the influence of medicinal marijuana products.

According to Ohio medical marijuana laws, patients and caregivers are allowed to transport their medical cannabis within the state, but the driver must be sober. The transported supplies must be equal to or less than a 90-day supply and remain secured and out of reach of the driver or passengers.

Reciprocity

Currently, Ohio does not recognize medical marijuana registry cards issued in other states. The law requires that the State Board of Pharmacy attempt in good faith to negotiate and enter into reciprocity agreements with other states, although Ohio has not yet entered into such agreements with any other states. If Ohio does enter into a reciprocity agreement with another state, more information will be posted to the OMMCP website.

Cultivation

Much like Pennsylvania and other East Coast medical states, Ohio does not allow patients or caregivers to grow their own medical cannabis.

Medical cannabis laws are constantly changing and public support is higher than ever, with advocates constantly working to expand patient access to medicine. Body and Mind is excited by these developments and can’t wait to assist you next time you visit one of our dispensaries.