How to Obtain Medical Marijuana in Ohio

Passed under House Bill 523 a few years ago, Ohio’s long-awaited medical marijuana program finally arrived in early 2019. This bill allows eligible patients to get their hands on marijuana as a treatment for their medical conditions.

To obtain Ohio Medical Marijuana safely and legally, patients need to take the Medical Marijuana Control Program or OMMCP. The following are the three simple steps required to acquire medical cannabis in the state.

Set an Appointment with an Eligible Physician

The first step in successfully becoming a qualified patient under the medical marijuana program is to create a genuine doctor-patient relationship with an accredited doctor. Some of the details of such an association are as follows:
● A minimum of once a year personal visit with an eligible doctor.
● Certified doctors can access the Patient Registry and will, on behalf of their patients, submit their recommendations directly.
● The physician requires Ohio’s Department of Motor Vehicles-issued driver’s license of the patient or a United States passport.
● A certified caregiver can own and issue medical marijuana to qualified patients who have affiliation with the practitioner’s registration. The accredited doctor may need the same identification from the practitioner to create their profile in the patient registry.
● The doctor can recommend medical marijuana for up to 90-day supply with three refills, which totals up to 360-day supply as the patients may require.

Additionally, under 4731-32 of the Administrative Code, the physicians qualified to prescribe medical marijuana as a treatment in Ohio must own an active certificate, specifically the Certificate to Recommend, given by the State Medical Board of Ohio.

On the other hand, to get medical marijuana, patients should have any of the illness conditions such as cancer, human immunodeficiency virus, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, etc.

Register for the Program Through the OMMCP’s Patient & Caregiver Registry

Once the certified physicians diagnose that the patients indeed have one or more of the qualifying conditions, they will enter the patient or caregiver into the Patient & Caregiver

Registry; after which the patient or caregiver will get an email instructing them to log in to their profile. Registration for the Ohio Medical Marijuana generally costs around $50 annually for the patients and about $25 for the caregivers. However, patients that are eligible for the status of veteran or indigent may be able to get a lower fee.

Look for a Licensed Dispensary

After patients successfully obtained their cards, they can buy medical marijuana from dispensaries licensed by the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy. Staff from the dispensaries will give patients the necessary counselling on the proper form and dosage of marijuana according to
the patients’ conditions. It is worth remembering that only patients who possess an active registry card, recommendation, and relevant government-issued identification card can legally purchase medical marijuana.

Obtaining medical marijuana in Ohio is quite simple and straightforward. Nevertheless, since not all patients with similar conditions can be treated equally with marijuana without potential risks, patients need to seek advice from their physicians to get the best out of this medicinal plant.