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Should Ohio's medical marijuana laws be changed?

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By Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Bureau Updated 9:41 PM Sunday, April 25, 2010

COLUMBUS — Over the years, enthusiasm for the annual Ann Arbor Hash Bash in the heart of the University of Michigan’s campus has waxed and waned.

But earlier this month, roughly 5,000 people turned out, thanks to nice weather, the appearance of comedians Cheech and Chong and, say organizers, a new law legalizing the medical use of marijuana.

The year-old Michigan law serves as a model for what two Democratic legislators want to have passed in Ohio. The Michigan law allows adults, or their caregivers, to grow and use marijuana if their doctor certifies that they have a debilitating condition or chronic pain. The law does not allow them to buy or sell seeds and plants.

So far, the department has issued 17,559 registration cards and denied 3,596 applications, mostly due to incomplete information. The department receives 1,000 applications a week.

“We just started getting a huge influx of applications in the last few months,” said James McCurtis, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health. “More and more people are seeing it as a way to feel better with their illnesses.”

Democrats Bob Hagan of Youngstown and Kenny Yuko of Richmond Heights say support for their bill is dragging. “We can’t overcome the old Cheech and Chong and George Carlin image,” Yuko said. “If we had $1 for each joke we’ve heard about seeking ‘joint’ sponsors (for the bill), Rep. Hagan and I could retire.”

An Ohio Poll released by the University of Cincinnati in May 2009 showed 73 percent of Ohioans favor allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana. And a national poll released Tuesday, April 20, by the Associated Press and CNBC said 60 percent of adult Americans favor legalizing medical marijuana and 74 percent believe it has medical benefits for some people. However, only a third of Americans favor legalizing marijuana — for medical or recreational use, the poll found.

Contact this reporter at (614)224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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