Recent News

Medical Board received 10 petitions for medical marijuana qualifying conditions

January 13, 2023    383    383   

The Medical Board received 10 petitions for potential new qualifying conditions during the 2022 petition window. The Medical Board’s Medical Marijuana Committee is anticipated to meet February 8. At that meeting, the committee will decide which petitions will be considered. A final vote on new qualifying conditions is expected this summer.

Condition names as listed by the petitioners:

1. Bipolar 2: Depression/Anxiety

2. Chronic Migraine

3. Autism Spectrum Disorder

4. Uterine Cancer

5. Autism Spectrum Disorder

6. Anxiety

7. Irritable Bowel Syndrome

8. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

9. Autism Spectrum Disorder

10. DDD, Neuropathy, Depression

During the submission period (November 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022), petitions were filed electronically through the state’s website, medicalmarijuana.ohio.gov. Per Ohio Administrative Code 4731-32-05, a petition needs to include:

• The name and contact information

• Specific disease or condition requested to be added

• Information from experts who specialize in the study of the disease or condition

• Relevant medical or scientific evidence

• Consideration of whether conventional medical therapies are insufficient to treat or alleviate the disease or condition

• Evidence supporting the use of medical marijuana to treat or alleviate the disease or condition and other types of medical or scientific documentation

• Letters of support provided by physicians

Petitions that meet the requirements of OAC 4731-32-05 will proceed and be reviewed by subject matter experts. Petitions submitted for the same condition will be combined for the reviews. Any petition for a condition that has been previously reviewed by the board and rejected will not be considered by the board unless new scientific research that supports the request is offered.

The board’s committee will review the expert reports and then make a recommendation to the full board for a vote to adopt/deny a petition to add the qualifying condition under review. A full board vote is expected in summer 2023.

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 is scheduled for November 1 – December 31, 2023.

State Medical Board closed on Jan. 16

January 13, 2023    63    63   

The State Medical Board office will be closed on Monday, January 16 in observance of the state holiday. We will reopen on Tuesday at 8 a.m.

January Board Meeting

January 9, 2023    143    143   

The State Medical Board of Ohio has public meetings scheduled this week. 

Monday, January 9, 2023

The Dietetics Advisory Council is meeting in-person at 2 p.m. Click here to view the agenda.

Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023

The following meetings will be shared on the board's YouTube channel, as technology permits. Click here to view the agenda and livestream link.

8 a.m. Quality Assurance Committee

8:30 a.m. Compliance Committee

9 a.m. Finance Committee

10 a.m. Board Meeting

President, Vice President voted in at December Board Meeting

January 4, 2023    115    115   

At the December 2022 monthly Board Meeting, the State Medical Board of Ohio voted in Sherry Johnson, D.O., as president and Jonathan B. Feibel, M.D., as vice president of the Medical Board.

Two members are selected by their peers on the Board to serve as president and vice president - each term lasting one year. Among other functions, the president presides over the board meetings, makes committee assignments, and works closely with the Executive Director.

Congratulations Dr. Johnson and Dr. Feibel!

To view the profiles of Dr. Johnson and Dr. Feibel, visit https://med.ohio.gov/The-Board/About-the-Board.

State Medical Board office closure

December 30, 2022    97    97   

The State Medical Board office will be closed on Monday, January 2 in observance of the New Year holiday. We will reopen on Tuesday at 8 a.m.

Office Closure

December 23, 2022    86    86   

The State Medical Board office will be closed on Monday, December 26 in observance of Christmas. We will reopen on Tuesday at 8 a.m.

Board of Pharmacy Adopts Emergency Rule to Ban the Sale and Use of Tianeptine

December 23, 2022    511    511   

On December 22, Governor DeWine signed Executive Order 2022-17-D to suspend the normal rulemaking process to allow the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy to classify all products containing an unregulated drug that produces opioid-like effects, tianeptine, as a Schedule I controlled substance pursuant to OAC 4729:9-1-01.03. 

Tianeptine is an atypical tricyclic antidepressant that is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The drug (marketed as Coaxil or Stablon) is approved for use in in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In the U.S., tianeptine is known as ZaZa and Tianna Red by users, who can find it readily available in gas stations, convenience stores, and online.

Click here to read the full news release and retailer notice.  

Board and Committee Meetings

December 12, 2022    158    158   

The State Medical Board of Ohio has public meetings scheduled this week. 

Tuesday, December 13

The Respiratory Care Advisory Council is meeting in person at 2 p.m. Click here to view the agenda. 

Wednesday, December 14

The following meetings will be shared on the board's YouTube channel, as technology permits. Click here to view the agenda and livestream link. 

9 a.m. Compliance Committee

10:00 a.m. Board Meeting

Spoofing SMBO emails

December 5, 2022    756    756   

Licensees should be aware that a scam is spoofing State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) emails. In the above image, scammers sent an email to a licensee under the pretense that they are a legitimate SMBO employee; however, the email address in the body of the email and the email address in the sender portion do not match. All emails from an SMBO sender should end in @med.ohio.gov.

If you are contacted by a scammer, please report the incident to your local law enforcement and Ohio's Attorney General by filing a complaint online at ohioprotects.org or by calling 800-282-0515.

Vendor email not from SMBO

November 21, 2022    1441    1441   

The State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) was notified of an email (see picture) from a third party vendor that advertises a bundle of mandatory topics for continuing medical education (CME). The email did not originate from SMBO, and the third party vendor is not connected to the board. 

Although physicians are required to complete 50 hours of CME each renewal period, the only mandatory CME is one hour on the topic of a licensee’s duty to report for which the board has created a course for licensees to complete.  The remaining hours may be earned by completing educational activities that have been awarded Category 1 credit by accredited CME providers such as the Ohio State Medical Association. 

Additional information on the duty to report can be found at med.ohio.gov/Duty-to-Report. For more information on CME requirements, licensees may visit the board’s website at https://med.ohio.gov/Renew/Physician/Physician-MD-DO-DPM or contact our Licensure team via license@med.ohio.gov.