COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A Medical Board of Ohio panel has added three existing conditions for Ohioans to buy medical marijuana.
The panel earlier this year determined that arthritis, chronic migraines and complex regional pain syndrome fall into the existing category of chronic or intractable pain.
State residents must obtain a physician recommendation under 22 qualifying conditions and register with the state to become eligible to buy marijuana flower and other products at the state’s 52 dispensaries.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy voted last month to make 73 more dispensary licenses available in a process that is expected to be announced later this year to deal with patient complaints about lack of access and high prices.
Three of the state’s 31 medical marijuana districts, all in western Ohio, have no dispensaries.
The number of people who have registered to purchase medical marijuana is far higher than anticipated since dispensaries opened in January 2019, pharmacy board officials said last month.
They had expected between 12,000 and 24,000 people to register as medical marijuana patients during the first two years of the program. Just over 155,000 unique patients have made purchases since then, according to Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program data.