Medical Marijuana Resources

On September 8, 2016, ​House Bill 523, legalized medical marijuana in Ohio. The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program allows people with certain medical conditions, upon the recommendation of an Ohio-licensed physician certified by the State Medical Board of Ohio, to purchase and use medical marijuana.

The State Medical Board is responsible for certifying physicians to recommend medical marijuana and may add to the list of qualifying conditions for which medical marijuana can be recommended.

 

Under Ohio law, only the following are qualifying medical conditions:

  • AIDS

  • amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

  • Alzheimer’s disease

  • cachexia

  • cancer

  • chronic traumatic encephalopathy

  • Crohn’s disease

  • epilepsy or another seizure disorder

  • fibromyalgia

  • glaucoma

  • hepatitis C

  • Huntington's disease

  • inflammatory bowel disease

  • multiple sclerosis

  • pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable

  • Parkinson's disease

  • positive status for HIV

  • post-traumatic stress disorder

  • sickle cell anemia

  • spasticity

  • spinal cord disease or injury

  • terminal illness

  • Tourette syndrome

  • traumatic brain injury

  • ulcerative colitis

  

 

Click here to view conditions submitted during the petition period the board has determined are already covered by an existing qualifying condition in the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (OMMCP).

 

Petitions

The petition submission period to add qualifying conditions closed on December 31, 2021.

Pursuant to Ohio Administrative Code 4731-32-05, the petition must detail:

(1) The name and contact information for the person submitting the petition.

(2) The specific disease or condition requested to be added as a qualifying condition;

(3) Information from experts who specialize in the study of the disease or condition;

(4) Relevant medical or scientific evidence pertaining to the disease or condition;

(5) Consideration of whether conventional medical therapies are insufficient to treat or alleviate the disease or condition;

(6) Evidence supporting the use of medical marijuana to treat or alleviate the disease or condition, including journal articles, peer-reviewed studies, and other types of medical or scientific documentation;

(7) Letters of support provided by physicians with knowledge of the disease or condition. This may include a letter provided by the physician treating the petitioner, if applicable.

 

Click here to view previously submitted petitions.

 

Next Steps

To inform whether they should be added as qualifying conditions for Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program, the State Medical Board of Ohio determined the following conditions will move forward for expert review and public comment:

  • Opioid use disorder (2 petitions)

  • Autism spectrum disorder

Written public comment on these conditions was accepted February 10 – February 25, 2022. Anyone may submit their comments by emailing MedicalMarijuana@med.ohio.gov.

 

The Medical Board received 9 petitions from November 1- December 31, 2021.

4 petitions failed to meet the statutory and rule requirements for consideration by the board. These petitions were recommended for rejection by the committee. The full board will consider the rejection recommendations at the March 9 meeting.

2 petitions failed to meet the statutory and rule requirements for consideration by the board. However, these petitions either explicitly petitioned for a condition already covered, or the petition was for a condition closely associated with a condition already covered. During the February 9 meeting, the board’s Medical Marijuana Committee determined that the petitions submitted for degenerative disc disease/chronic pain/PTSD and lupus (when pain is present) were already covered by the existing qualifying condition of pain that is either chronic or intractable.

The petitions for opioid use disorder and autism spectrum disorder will move forward for expert review since the board determined they met the requirements of new scientific information outlined in Ohio Administrative Code 4731-32-05. Petitions for autism and opioid use disorder were rejected by the board in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

For those petitions moving forward to expert review and public comment, the experts may include physicians who specialize in the named conditions, experts who have experience with medical marijuana programs in other states, etc. Petitions for the same condition will be combined for the reviews.

The committee will review the subject matter experts’ reports, and then make a recommendation to the full board for a vote to adopt/deny the petition to add the qualifying conditions. That full board vote is expected this summer.

The Medical Board’s rules (Ohio Administrative Code) for the qualifying conditions can be found here: http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/4731-32-05.

The next condition petition window will be November 1 – December 31, 2022.

 

Standard of Care

All physicians with an active CTR must follow the full list of requirements in Rule 4731-32-03 Standard of Care in the Ohio Administrative Code.

 

Resources

  • If you are a physician and want to complete a Certificate to Recommend (CTR) application, click here. 

  • If you are a patient or caregiver and want to obtain a recommendation for medical marijuana, click here for a roster of physicians who hold a CTR.

  • OMMCP Helpline 1-833-4OH-MMCP (1-833-464-6627)

    • ​The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program Toll-Free Helpline responds to inquiries from patients, caregivers and health professionals regarding adverse reactions to medical marijuana, and provides information about available services and additional assistance as needed.

  • For questions about your CTR, email MedicalMarijuana@med.ohio.gov.

  • For technical difficulties accessing the Registry, call the Appriss Help Desk at 1-833-276-0100.

  • The Medical Board’s rules (Ohio Administrative Code) for the qualifying conditions can be found here: http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/4731-32-05.

  • Additional resources can be found on the medical marijuana website. 

  • FAQs

  • CTR eNews

  • CTR Annual Report

  • VIDEO For Physicians: How to Register Patients and Caregivers

  • VIDEO For Patients: Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program Overview