• A registered patient shall not be subject to arrest or criminal prosecution for obtaining, using, or possessing medical marijuana, paraphernalia or accessories.

• Registered patient status not sufficient basis to conduct field sobriety test. Officer must have factual basis giving reasonable suspicion that person is operating vehicle under the influence of marijuana.

• Registered patient or caregiver status cannot be sole or primary basis for rejecting a tenant.

• A registered caregiver shall not be subject to arrest or criminal prosecution for obtaining or possessing medical marijuana, paraphernalia or accessories on behalf of patient, or for assisting patient with use.

• Use, possession or administration of medical marijuana cannot be sole or primary basis for determining that a child is abused or neglected.  

• Use, possession or administration of medical marijuana cannot be sole or primary basis for allocating parental rights, responsibilities or parenting time.  

• Use or possession of medical marijuana cannot disqualify a patient from medical care or from a transplant waiting list.

• Use, possession, administration, cultivation, processing, testing, or dispensing of medical marijuana not sole or primary reason to initiate forfeiture or seizure of property or assets.

Oils (oral administration and vaporization), tinctures, capsules, edibles, patches, lotions, creams, ointments, plant material, and any other form approved by the board of pharmacy.

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Note: No smoking or combustion. THC level for plant material must be less than 35%. THC level for extracts must be less than 70%.

A ninety-day supply, as determined by the board of pharmacy. consists of:

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Tier I plant material: 0-23% THC = 8 ounces of plant material
Tier II plant material: 23.1-35% THC = 5 3/10 ounces of plant material
Oils for vaporizing: 53.1 grams of THC
Patches for transdermal administration: 26.55 grams of THC
Edibles, oils, and tinctures for oral administration: 9.9 grams of THC

To be part of the program, patients must be certified by physician as having one of 21 qualifying medical conditions: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Alzheimer’s Disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Cancer; Chronic traumatic encephalopathy; Crohn's disease; Epilepsy or another seizure disorder;  Fibromyalgia; Glaucoma; Hepatitis C; Inflammatory bowel disease; Multiple sclerosis; Pain that is chronic, severe, or intractable; Parkinson's disease; Positive status for HIV; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Sickle cell anemia; Spinal cord disease or injury; Tourette's syndrome; Traumatic brain injury; Ulcerative colitis; Any other disease or condition specified in a rule adopted by the state medical board under section 4731.302 of the Revised Code.

• Boni fide physician-patient relationships exists

• Patient diagnosed with qualifying medical condition

• Physician or delegate requested report from drug database covering past 12 months.

• Physician informed patient that benefits of medical marijuana outweigh risks

• Name of one or more caregivers assisting patient, if any

To be dispensed medical marijuana or be in possession of it, a patient must have a valid registry identification card. The patient must obtain their registration from a physician authorized by the Ohio Medical Board to recommend medical marijuana. The physician will confirm that the patient has a qualifying condition and will then submit the paperwork for patient registration to the board of pharmacy. The fee for the registration is $50.

A written recommendation issued to a patient is valid for one year. Thereafter, physician may issue another recommendation with a physical examination of the patient.

Yes. Caregivers may:

• Possess medical marijuana on behalf of patient

• Assist patient with use of medical marijuana

• Possess paraphernalia and accessories

• Possess registered patient’s ninety-day supply, as determined by the board of pharmacy

• Maintain separate inventory for each patient served

• May use medical marijuana if also a patient

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A caregiver may only possess and purchase medical marijuana on behalf of a patient he/she has a valid registration identification card. The fee is $25 per card for each patient served.

HB 523 is actually silent on home growing. This means that growing marijuana in Ohio is illegal and penalties revert to existing Ohio law. NORML provides the best overview of the penalties for growing by quantity.

The Ohio Department of Commerce, the State’s chief regulatory agency, oversees cultivators, processors and testing facilities.

The nine-member State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy oversees retail dispensaries that sell medical marijuana to patients who have been registered with the pharmacy board by physicians certified by the medical board to recommend marijuana.

The 10-member State Medical Board of Ohio oversees physicians who recommend treatment by medical marijuana to qualifying patients.

The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation fingerprints and conducts criminal records checks on administrators, owners, officers, board members or prospective employees of entities licensed by the department of commerce or board of pharmacy.

The Department of Taxation provides state tax compliance information concerning license applicants to the department of commerce of the pharmacy board.

• Criminal records check

• Not convicted of or pled guilty to disqualifying offenses within last 5 years

• Does not have ownership interest in a testing laboratory

• Not located within 500 feet of school, church, or public library, playground, or park

• Compliant with state tax law

• Criminal records check

• Not convicted of or pled guilty to disqualifying offenses within last 5 years

• Does not have ownership interest in a testing laboratory

• Not located within 500 feet of school, church, or public library, playground, or park

• Compliant with state tax law

Municipalities and townships may prohibit or limit the number of cultivators, processors or dispensaries within their respective territories.

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Cannot limit research at a state university, academic medical center or private research and development organization within their jurisdiction.

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Township zoning commissions can regulate the location of dispensaries or keep them from being located in unincorporated areas.

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Tract, lot, parcel or portion of land on which marijuana is cultivated is not land exclusively devoted to agricultural use.

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Cultivators, processors, retail dispensaries and testing laboratories cannot be located within 500 feet of the boundaries of a parcel of real estate containing a school, church, public library, public playground, or public park. Requirement doesn’t apply to research institutions.

• September 8, 2016 – Ohio’s Medical marijuana law goes into effect

• September 8, 2016 – Affirmative defense begins

• October 8, 2016 – Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee appointments made

• November 7, 2016 – Initial Committee meeting held

• April 24, 2017 - Cultivation rules and application released.

• May 6, 2017 – Cultivation rules must be completed. After their adoption, the department of commerce will begin accepting cultivator applications.

• June 5, 2017 to June 16, 2017 - Level II cultivator applications accepted

• June 19, 2017 to June 30, 2017 - Level I cultivator applications accepted

• September 8, 2017 – Department of commerce adopts standards and procedures for the program. 

• September 8, 2017 – State medical board adopts rules regarding physician recommendations  

• September 8, 2017 – Board of pharmacy adopts rules for standards and procedures

• September 8, 2017 – Institution of higher education requirement for laboratory testing expires

• September 8, 2017 – Existing cultivation sites may expand their growing areas.

• Spring, 2018 –. Medical Board begins to issue doctors certificates to recommend medical marijuana via the state’s online eLicense portal..

• September 8, 2018 – Department of Commerce and State Board of Pharmacy have taken all actions necessary to ensure Medical Marijuana Control Program is fully operational.

• November 1, 2018 – Petitions to add a qualifying medical condition begin to be accepted by the State Medical Board.

• February 2019 – Affirmative defense expires 60 days after board of pharmacy began accepting patient applications on December 3, 2018.

• October 8, 2021 – Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee expires.