Ohio to Measure Medical Marijuana by THC Amount

In legal cannabis states, you can purchase and possess certain amounts of weed measured by weight. Ohio lawmakers, however, want to limit the amount of cannabis a person can legally buy not by ounces or grams but by the amount of THC the product contains. If implemented, the law will make Ohio's medical cannabis policy one of the most restrictive in the nation.

House bill 523 allows patients with any of the 20 qualifying conditions to purchase and possess no more than a “90-day supply” of marijuana plant material or infused edibles. The tricky thing about this law is that it does not specify what amount of weed is considered to be the “90-day supply.” So, Ohio lawmakers want to make things a bit clearer. However, in contrast to their colleagues from other legal states, Ohio regulators want to use the product's amount of THC as the defining measurement.

According to the draft rules released by the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy on February 23, 2017, medical marijuana patients and caregivers will be allowed to collectively purchase the following quantities of marijuana:

• Up to 19,8 grams (220 mg per day) of THC content in patches for transdermal administration.
• Up to 9 grams (100 mg per day) of THC content in oil, tincture, capsule, tablet, or edible form for oral administration.
• Up to 40,5 grams (450 mg per day) of THC content in medical marijuana oil for vaporization.

As for the plant material, the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy offers different limits for different categories of weed:

• for tier I medical marijuana (plant material with THC levels below 23 percent)―no more than six ounces;
• for tier II medical marijuana (plant material with THC levels above 23 percent)―no more than four ounces.

Patients would be able to mix different marijuana products within the allowed limits of a 90-day supply.

It is noteworthy that these numbers are not final. Public comment on medical cannabis form and method rules are being accepted through March 10.