Ohio just legalized medical marijuana, but questions still remain as law takes effect

Tuesday, September 20, 2016 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
Tags: medical cannabis, natural medicine, health freedom

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(NaturalNews) Ohio has become the 25th state to legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes. Provided with this new choice for treatment, people with PTSD, AIDS, Alzheimer's, debilitating pain and cancer should be able to access cannabis immediately; however, questions still remain about how patients will legally obtain this herb and its medicinal parts.

Dispensaries take time to set up, and may not be welcome in some communities. Medical professionals may be averse to the plant and misunderstand how it should be used and prescribed. As great as these medical cannabis laws are, they still cannot undo decades of brainwashing that has cast members of all facets of society against one another. The misunderstanding and misinformation still exist.

Ohio cannabis law leaves production, prescription and distribution in the dark

The Ohio law is incomplete, because it doesn't outline a clear path to help doctors, patients, pharmacists and law enforcement officers understand how medical cannabis is going to be managed, prepared and dispensed. The rules for medical cannabis production, prescription and distribution weren't even outlined in the law. The law won't be even partially functional until September 2018, when rules for distribution and regulation are established. In the meantime, patients may seek out substandard cannabis products that aren't scientifically validated.

The Ohio state Medical Board has not established any clear guidelines on how doctors should recommend cannabis to patients. Reginald Fields, speaking for the Ohio State Medical Association, said: "There's a little confusion out there, so we're essentially asking physicians to stand by until some of these issues are clarified and we can assure they're acting on the right side of the law." Employers may still enact zero tolerance policies against cannabis even though employees are legally allowed to use cannabis oil, edibles, patches or a vapor form.

Cannabis freedom strongly needed at the federal level

With each state crafting its own rules on how cannabis can be used it is inevitable that these rules will conflict with one another and interfere with patients' rights to access treatment. A soldier experiencing PTSD in one state may have to travel across state lines to be prescribed cannabis for his condition. A doctor in one state may not be allowed to prescribe cannabis oil for cancer patients, and therefore would have to turn away a patient that could have been significantly helped.

On top of these conflicting rules, the federal government has its own power to break down doors to harass and intimidate people who use cannabis. Even though cannabis may be legal in one state, this won't stop the DEA from setting their own rules and destroying people's lives. Federal laws also prohibit banks from accepting cash from cannabis-related businesses, whether the business is legal in a state or not. Patients that can legally use cannabis are also not allowed to move freely through airports. The Controlled Substances Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, the Patriot Act and RICO are all making it difficult for people to utilize medical cannabis.

These are all reasons why it's so important for cannabis freedom to be enacted at the federal level. The DEA's war on cannabis could be put to an end. Freedom would mean that the many cannabis researchers and growers could breed and formulate the best scientifically validated cannabis products, while distributing them without fear to any patient seeking help. It would also mean that there would no longer be a war restricting people from this plant's healing virtues. The best cannabis would become available to anyone seeking help.

If this war were to end completely, all states could openly accept cannabis and other herbs with healing properties. Freedom would end the black market and bring transparency to natural medicine. Perhaps medicine could be returned to its foundation, as herbalists and scientists selectively breed, isolate and combine the components and properties of plants and trees that correspond and resonate with the human body.

Sources include:

FoxNews.com