Ohio Health Policy News

Judge strikes down minority quota for Ohio marijuana dispensary licenses

A Madison County judge has struck down a state law granting minority-owned medical marijuana businesses a leg up during the competitive licensing process (Source: “Ohio medical marijuana: Minority quota for dispensary licenses struck down,” Cincinnati Enquirer, Nov. 7, 2019).

The ruling against Ohio's "racial quota" is the latest blow to state lawmakers' attempt at making the industry more diverse. It could lead to more dispensary licenses being issued beyond the current total of 56 statewide.

Ohio's 2016 medical marijuana law required 15% of all licenses to grow, process and sell marijuana be awarded to companies majority-owned and operated by a racial minority. A Franklin County judge struck down the provision as it applied to cultivators and processors in November 2018.

This week's ruling applies to dispensaries, which are regulated by the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy. A board spokeswoman said the agency is still reviewing the judge’s ruling and determining next steps.

New state budget raises Ohio smoking age to 21

Ohioans must wait until age 21 to legally buy cigarettes, cigars, vape pens and other tobacco products, under a provision in the state budget bill signed Thursday morning by Gov. Mike DeWine (Source: “Ohio raises legal smoking age to 21,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 18, 2019).

The new law also applies to rolling papers, filters, blunt wrappers, liquids and other accessories involved with smoking or vaping. DeWine on Thursday vetoed a provision that would have phased the higher age in for anyone who turns 18 years old before Oct. 1.

The state budget also creates a new tax on vaping products assessed at 10 cents per milliliter.

Gov. DeWine vetoes price transparency provisions in new budget

In signing the state's biennial budget Thursday morning, DeWine also issued 25 line-item vetoes, most of which were health-care related (Source: “Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs state budget bill; nixes ‘price transparency’ measures,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 18, 2019).

Among the items he nixed were “price transparency” measures requiring hospitals to provide patients with billing estimates in advance, and “surprise billing” language that required insurers to reimburse out-of-network medical services when performed at an in-network facility.

State lawmakers have pursued these types of reforms for years over objections from state hospitals and other health-care providers.

In his veto message, DeWine wrote he supports the idea of making medical billing more transparent, but said the measures were potentially duplicative of those happening at the federal level.

DeWine details plans to raising smoking age

Gov. Mike DeWine and his top administrators on Wednesday called for Ohio to increase the purchase age for tobacco and vape products to 21 (Source: “Gov. DeWine issues warning on vaping, wants to raise smoking age,” Dayton Daily News, April 17, 2019).

“This is a public health crisis,” DeWine said.

In his proposed two-year operating budget, DeWine included a provision to raise the tobacco purchase age, including vape materials, to 21. The current purchase age is 18, although more than 30 Ohio cities have passed local ordinances setting the age at 21.

Ohio ranks in the bottom quartile for adult smoking and children living in a household with a smoker, according to HPIO’s recently released 2019 Health Value Dashboard. Analysis of the rankings found that tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure contribute to many of Ohio’s greatest health challenges, including infant mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer and asthma.

New Ohio alcohol laws: Good for business, troublesome for health

New Ohio laws in the past decade have widened access to alcohol, a move that’s allowed the beer, wine and liquor industry to flourish. But, leaders in addiction prevention say the rapid expansion may threaten public health (Source: “Latest Ohio alcohol laws bolster business,” Dayton Daily News, April 7, 2019).

A Dayton Daily News investigation found Ohio’s governor has signed into law at least 12 bills that further relaxed alcohol restrictions statewide since 2012. They included everything from allowing microdistilleries to offer visitors a taste of their products and sell limited quantities for carryout to lowering the permit fees for craft breweries and allowing open containers of alcohol at outdoor events.

Liquor sales in Ohio have jumped more than $500 million in the past decade, and since 2012, the number of craft brewers in the state have increased more than 400%.

As Ohio’s alcohol laws have changed, however, binge drinking rates have creeped higher and increased access may be to blame. Binge drinking is commonly defined as four drinks for a woman and five for a man within a two-hour period, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 

The overall percentage of Ohioans who binge drink increased from 17% in 2011 to 19% as of this year, according to a survey from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

State considers adding six conditions to medical marijuana list

As Ohio prepares for its first legal sale of marijuana in the coming weeks, a state committee has identified six additional conditions that could be added to the list eligible for medical marijuana (Source: “Medical marijuana: Opioid addiction, autism, four other ailments to get more study as qualifying conditions,” Cincinnati Enquirer, Jan. 9, 2019).

Ohio law set 21 qualifying conditions for patients to get medical marijuana, but opens an annual window for suggestions to add to the list. In November and December, Ohioans submitted 110 petitions suggesting a wide spectrum of conditions. Opioid addiction, autism, general anxiety, chronic anxiety, depression and insomnia were selected Wednesday by a committee of the Ohio State Medical Board for more study as potential qualifying conditions for medical marijuana.

The committee will consult with medical specialists as well as experts in other medical marijuana programs and is expected to make recommendations to the full Medical Board by June 30.

Ohio OKs first marijuana testing lab

Ohio gave the first certificate of operation to a medical marijuana testing facility this week, which means that every level — cultivation, processing, testing and dispensing — now has at least one business ready to serve the state’s medical marijuana customers  (Source: “Ohio gives green light to first marijuana testing lab,” Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 20, 2018).

North Coast Testing Laboratories, of Streetsboro in Portage County, can begin testing cannabis samples. Just a few of the small growers have cannabis ready for testing, so the first product to reach consumers will be very limited.

Ohio hopes to see its first medical marijuana sale sometime around Jan. 1.

At least 2,170 Ohioans hold active medical marijuana cards now, and doctors have written more than 3,460 recommendations for medical marijuana, according to Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy.

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has created an online resource page to inform policymakers and other stakeholders about the Medical Marijuana Control Program and medical marijuana legalization in Ohio. The resource page also includes resources on the health and policy implications of changes in marijuana use.

Small amounts of medical marijuana could be available in Ohio next month

Small amounts of medical marijuana should be available in Ohio before the end of the year, according to state officials (Source: “Medical marijuana could be available in Ohio by year’s end,” Akron Beacon Journal, Nov. 11, 2018).

The state’s first harvest of cannabis plants, at few small growers, should be through processing and testing sometime next month, said Kerry Francis, spokeswoman for the Department of Commerce. The department, which oversees the state’s new medical marijuana program, had hoped to have some cannabis available this month, but testing labs, which will confirm a product’s potency and check for contamination, have yet to be certified.

Labs should be inspected by mid-December, Francis said.

“We expect to have some very limited amounts [of cannabis], maybe enough for a few hundred patients, available by the end of the year,” she said.

Which dispensaries will receive marijuana and how much is available is not yet known, Francis said. The state hopes to have a clearer picture of that next month.

Some medical marijuana could hit the market in Ohio next month

The first batches of legal medical marijuana may be available in Ohio as early as mid-November but the initial supply is expected to sell out almost immediately, according to state officials (Source: “Legal medical marijuana may be available in Ohio next month,” Springfield News-Sun, Oct. 4, 2018)

Mark Hamlin of the Ohio Department of Commerce said this week that two small-scale cultivators — one in Meigs County and another in Portage County — will have product ready for state inspection in early November.

Hamlin told the Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee that the first batches will serve hundreds, not thousands, of patients. Likely, Ohio will see what played out in the early days in other states: a handful of dispensaries open, sell out in a matter of days, close again until more product is available, Hamlin said.

Kasich signs bill stiffening fentanyl penalities

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed a bill that increases penalties for drug trafficking and some other drug offenses when the drug involved is a fentanyl-related compound (Source: “Gov. John Kasich signs bill increasing drug penalties involving fentanyl,” Dayton Daily News, Aug. 2, 2018).

The law could add as many as eight years to sentences of drug offenders convicted of serious crimes involving drugs containing fentanyl. Increased penalties wouldn't apply if the defendant didn't know a compound contained fentanyl.

When a fentanyl-related drug conviction is connected to a homicide conviction, the law would require that prison sentences for each conviction run consecutively.

Gov. Kasich signed Senate Bill 1 on Wednesday and the law will go into effect after 90 days.