According to a press release from Ohio Governor John Kasich’s office, the Governor signed six bills yesterday, including H.B 523, which authorizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes and establishes the Medical Marijuana Control Program. H.B. 523 was passed by the Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly on May 25, 2016. According to Ohio law, the Governor had ten days to sign the bill, or it would have become law, absent a veto.
The newly enacted law would allow the use of medical marijuana for medical conditions, such as chronic pain and some twenty other specified medical conditions. The law would reschedule marijuana as a schedule II drug and permit medical marijuana to be administered by patch, vaping, oil and edible, but would not permit smoking.
While the law takes effect in 90 days, it is estimated that the formation of the various boards of control and commissions and approval of regulations will take considerably longer. The law requires that medical marijuana be available within two years. A complete text of the law is available here.