Ohio medical marijuana program faces much work with one year to go

By Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch

In exactly one year, Ohioans with qualifying health conditions are, by law, supposed to be able to buy medical marijuana.

But will they?

“Absolutely,” said Ohio Commerce Director Jacqueline T. Williams, whose agency oversees the medical marijuana program. “I’m confident we will be able to get the program up and running as the legislature intended.”

Williams’ agency, which worked with the Ohio Board of Pharmacy and the Ohio Medical Board to build the marijuana program from the ground up, said Ohio had the advantage of drawing on the experience of 25 other states with some form of marijuana program on the books.

“People are going to utilize these products as medicine. We have a real responsibility to come up with a program that is safe for those individuals who use this product as patients in the future,” Williams said.

As required by House Bill 523, the medical marijuana law approved last year by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. John Kasich, hundreds of new…