The first of 56 medical marijuana dispensaries could open in a few days in Eastern Ohio.
Results of tests on samples from some state licensed marijuana growers could come in the next week. And a dispensary in Wintersville wants to make its first sale in the next few days.
But Mark Hamlin with the Ohio Department of Commerce says don't expect many products on the shelves. "We know that product availability will be tight to begin with," Hamlin said. That's what we expect from talking with our licensees and it's what we have seen in every other state that has a program like this."
Patients with one of 21 qualifying conditions can buy medical marijuana if recommended by a state-certified doctor.
According to the Department of Commerce, the conditions include AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, hepatitis C, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable, Parkinson’s disease, positive status for HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, spinal cord disease or injury, Tourette’s syndrome, traumatic brain injury and ulcerative colitis.
