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News (Media Awareness Project) - US OH: 2 Groups Push Medical Marijuana
Title:US OH: 2 Groups Push Medical Marijuana
Published On:2012-01-26
Source:Columbus Dispatch (OH)
Fetched On:2012-01-28 06:00:20
2 GROUPS PUSH MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Two proposed medical-marijuana issues potentially headed for Ohio's
Nov. 6 ballot seem similar at first glance but are quite different in
terms of specifics and supporters.

The Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment of 2012 was approved yesterday by
the Ohio Ballot Board, clearing the way for supporters to begin
gathering the 385,245 signatures of registered voters needed to
qualify the issue for the ballot. The group has until July 6 to submit
names.

Mary Jane Borden of Westerville, a committee member for the Cannabis
Amendment, said medical marijuana can be an effective, natural way to
ease chronic pain without relying on addictive narcotic
medications.

"We have a plant that's been in existence for 10,000 years, and it's
never killed anyone," she said.

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have some form of
medical-marijuana law.

In October, Ohio's five-member ballot board, led by Secretary of State
Jon Husted, approved a similar proposed constitutional amendment, the
Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment.

The general goal of both issues is the same: to persuade voters to
amend the Ohio Constitution to legalize the use of marijuana to treat
chronic pain associated with many diseases and conditions, including
Alzheimer's, cancer, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's, spinal-cord injuries and
rheumatoid arthritis.

But the two proposals differ in their implementation. The Cannabis
Amendment includes no limits on how much marijuana someone could buy,
possess or grow, leaving that decision and many others to a commission
to be established later.

The Alternative Treatment Amendment, by comparison, would embed
voluminous detail in the Ohio Constitution, including the amount of
marijuana (3.5 ounces) an individual could possess; where
sellers could not locate (within 1,000 feet of schools, churches,
recreation centers and drug-and-alcohol treatment facilities); and
fees related to buying and selling.

Backers of the issues come from different points of
view.

The Cannabis Amendment is supported primarily by patients, advocates
and business people, said Theresa Daniello of Cleveland, who suffers
from long-term thoracic back spasms. "My pain is forever," she said,
but it could be eased by marijuana.

The Alternative Treatment Amendment's most high-profile backer is the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a group that
has long advocated complete legalization.

Geoff Korff, a Salem, Ohio, lawyer and businessman on the Alternative
Treatment team, said he is uncomfortable with leaving specifics to a
commission. He said his group is organizing and gathering signatures,
targeting specific events statewide.

Korff thinks only one issue will make it to November: "I honestly
believe there will have to be some reconciliation that takes place."

The Columbus-based Drug Free Action Alliance doesn't like either
proposal.

"We don't do any medication through the ballot box or legislative
initiative. We do it through the Food and Drug Administration," said
Marcie Seidel, executive director. "We don't think this is the proper
way to do it. It should go through the proper channels so that when a
person takes a medication, they know what to expect from a certain
dosage, the side effects and interaction with other drugs."
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