What Additional Rights Should Medical Cannabis Patients Have in Ohio?

As Ohio’s adult-use law takes shape, the state’s medical marijuana program still lacks many of the rights and protections that other states have. What are these protections and how do we move toward a more equitable and accessible program?

Legalizing for All Adults: More rights than MMJ Patients in Ohio

In November 2023, Ohio voted to become the 24th state to legalize adult-use cannabis. It was only 8 years after Ohio legislators legalized medical cannabis with House Bill 529. The new adult-use law brings up a lot of questions as to how it will affect the medical cannabis program. A growing number of medical patients have expressed concern about the lack of patient rights and protections in the state.

As it currently stands, those who will be allowed to use cannabis in their free time as casual consumers will have more rights and protections than are currently being offered to our state’s medical cannabis patients. We analyzed what is making patients feel this way and how can we correct it.

Current Rights and Protections for Medical Cannabis Patients in Ohio

The Ohio Revised Code Section 3796.22 outlines medical patient rights as follows:

• Registered medical cannabis patients are allowed to use and possess medical cannabis, and possess medical cannabis paraphernalia and accessories.
• A medical cannabis patient cannot be arrested solely on the basis of using, purchasing, or possessing medical cannabis/paraphernalia.
• No medical cannabis patient is allowed to operate vehicles, trolleys, watercraft, or aircraft under the influence of medical cannabis.
• Medical cannabis patients can possess no more than a 90-day supply. A 90-day supply is defined by the Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3796:8-2-04 as follows:

*The current rights and protections for medical cannabis patients can be changed through legislative action.

Current Rights and Protections for Adult-Use Consumers in Ohio

The Ohio Revised Code Section 3780.36 outlines the rights of the adult-use consumer as follows:

• Adult-use consumers may possess, purchase, use, transfer, and transport adult-use cannabis.
• Adult-use consumers can possess no more than 2 ½ ounces of cannabis in any form that is not extract, or 15 grams of cannabis extract.
• The adult-use consumer may transfer or transport up to the possession limit.
• The adult-use consumer is protected from criminal arrest for obtaining, using, possessing, or transporting adult-use cannabis.
• The adult-use consumer is protected from criminal arrest for acquiring, possessing, using, purchasing, manufacturing, selling, or transporting paraphernalia.
• The adult-use consumer is protected from criminal arrest for assisting another adult-use consumer or allowing property to be used for any activity allowed by ORC Section 3780.36.
• No adult-use consumer is allowed to operate vehicles, trolleys, watercraft, or aircraft under the influence of adult-use cannabis.
• A PASSENGER is prohibited from smoking, vaporizing, or using any other combustible adult-use cannabis product while in a vehicle, motor vehicle, streetcar, trackless trolley, bike, watercraft, or aircraft.
• No individual under 21 years of age shall knowingly show or give false information concerning the individual’s name, age, or other identification to purchase adult-use cannabis from an adult-use dispensary.
• No one is allowed to transfer or sell adult-use cannabis, with or without remuneration, to an individual under 21 years of age, or to allow an individual under 21 years of age to purchase, possess, use, process, transport, or cultivate cannabis *except where authorized by Chapter 3796 of the Revised Code.
• No parent or guardian may knowingly permit their residence, any other private property under their control, or any vehicle, conveyance, or watercraft under their control to be used by an invitee of the parent’s child or the guardian’s ward, if the invitee is under 21 years of age, in a manner that constitutes a violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 3780.36.

*The current rights and protections for adult-use consumers can be changed through legislative action and by rule changes set forth by the Department of Commerce.

What is MISSING from these Rights and Protections?

Although people are mostly protected from criminal arrest, there are very few provisions that extend protections to consumers, whether for medicinal or adult-use purposes. Even more curious, some provisions in the adult-use law seem to be a bit unnecessary.

1. There are no protections for employment.

Ohio is set to let any adult 21 years or older purchase and use cannabis but has zero protections from employers discriminating against employees for doing so. This means that any employer can choose to keep their zero-tolerance policy towards cannabis. If you are subjected to a drug test to get the job or during employment, testing positive for THC can still be used against you. This is also currently true for all medical cannabis patients. No one in Ohio is guaranteed safety at their job when it comes to using cannabis outside of work hours.

2. There are zero housing protections.

Not only can you lose your job for using cannabis on the weekend, but your landlord also has the right to prohibit you from using cannabis on their property. They may also choose to penalize or evict you for violating those terms.

3. Possession limits seem arbitrarily low for adult-use cannabis.

The current medical program allows for larger purchase and possession amounts than the adult-use program, which could be expected. However, the current purchase and possession limits for the adult-use program are lower than most of Ohio’s decriminalized areas. According to Newman-James (2019), in 1975, the Ohio Governor signed 1975 HB 300. The bill removed all jail or prison time for possession of cannabis, up to 100 grams (3.5 ounces). “Possession of this minor amount of marijuana is a minor misdemeanor punishable by a $150 civil fine (which does not create a criminal record in Ohio).  Additionally, penalties for the following activities related to marijuana mirror the first-time penalty for possession:

• Cultivation of 20 grams or less of marijuana;
• Gifting of 20 grams or less of marijuana;
• Possession of up to 5 grams of solid hash and up to 1 gram of liquid hash; and
• Possession of marijuana paraphernalia” (Newman-James, 2019).

In more recent years, there has been an ongoing effort to increase the decriminalization limits in Ohio. Multiple townships and cities have increased the decriminalization possession limit from 100 to 200 grams, lowered or eliminated the financial penalty, and in some cases, decriminalized paraphernalia (Ohio Local Decriminalization – NORML, 2023). This begs the question: Why would Ohio roll back possession limits when legalizing adult-use cannabis?

4. Adult-use passengers in a vehicle are now at risk

While it is understandable to not want your citizens to be operating vehicles and watercraft while under the influence of cannabis, it is odd to think that your passenger can also be penalized for doing so. In a society that values designated drivers, how does this provision of the law make sense? And what implications will this have for taxis, ride-share services like Uber, and public transit?

Additionally, not being able to consume in a vehicle means that Ohioans cannot partake in the activity of riding a “party bus” and being able to consume cannabis on the bus. This is both in stark contrast to the liquor laws in Ohio, and also taking away from potential job creation.

5. Patients are not protected from discrimination, even when it comes to simply possessing their medicine in a public space.

Medical cannabis patients with a valid card and recommendation are still subject to search and seizure of their cannabis property. Patients are not allowed to bring their cannabis products into certain spaces. Private property locations can set these limits as they see fit. 

One example of this issue happened recently to a medical cannabis patient at Grant Hospital’s Spine Center. Brittney O. entered the facility March 8th to visit a family member and security seized her MMJ edibles. She recounted that on the previous day, the security detail asked to see her MMJ card and ID then proceeded to allow her access. “This is the first time in 6 years that I have entered a hospital and they have even bothered looking at what was in my purse as far as anything that was edible,” Brittney said. This encounter highlights the inconsistency in policy for cannabis on site among hospitals and medical facilities, which should raise concern for patients, caregivers and visitors. 

Additional Patient Protections 

Which states have the best protections for MMJ patients? According to Americans for Safe Access, the five states with the highest-graded medical cannabis access programs were Illinois, Michigan, Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Ohio earned a rating of C+ in the AFA study.

What other protections do medical cannabis patients need in Ohio? Email us to tell your story. 

MedicateOH Ohio MMJ Patient Project

MedicateOH remains dedicated to reporting about the MMJ program and its benefits. The data that the program provides gives us valuable insights that can propel pro-cannabis legislation in Ohio and other states. We encourage our readers to participate in our survey, which aims to capture the experiences of MMJ patients in Ohio as we enter our fifth year of patient access. 

Subscribe to MedicateOH to get the latest news about cannabis in Ohio and beyond. 

Sources:

Newman-James, F. (2019). The state of marijuana in the Buckeye State and fiscal policy considerations of legalized recreational marijuana. Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3401799

Ohio Local Decriminalization – NORML. (2023, May 30). NORML. https://norml.org/laws/local-decriminalization/ohio-local-decriminalization/

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