A special thanks to one of our summer clerks, Abigail Chin, for her assistance with this article.

In the wake of Ohio’s new medical marijuana law, you may be thinking, what does it mean for your drug-free workplace policy? Ohio’s new medical marijuana law, H.B. 523, provides targeted exceptions for employers.

Ohio’s law goes into effect in approximately 90 days; however, it is expected that full implementation could take up to two years before the Ohio Department of Commerce, State Medical Board and Board of Pharmacy can establish licensing requirements for growers, processors, testing laboratories, dispensaries and physicians. H.B. 523 allows people with the following qualified medical conditions to receive a physician’s recommendation for medical marijuana: HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, hepatitis C, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, pain that is chronic, severe and intractable, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, spinal cord disease or injury, Tourette’s syndrome, traumatic brain injury and ulcerative colitis. Marijuana is only permitted in certain forms, like edibles and vaporizers; as smoking it is prohibited under the new law.
Continue Reading Ohio’s new law legalizing medical marijuana includes key exceptions for employers