Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 10:16:58 -0600
From: "Carl E. Olsen" <[c--l] at [mail.commonlink.com]>
Subject: Ohio Moves to Recriminalize Medical Marijuana 

Lawmakers Move Quickly to Fix Marijuana Defense Oversight By PAUL SOUHRADA

Associated Press Writer

	COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- For five months, an obscure provision of
	Ohio law has made it legal for people to argue that they have
	medical reasons for possessing marijuana.

	State officials say they didn't know anything about it, but
	administration lawyers set out Wednesday to reverse the law.

	The law, which allows marijuana smokers to claim chronic illness
	or pain as a legal defense, was largely forgotten after it was
	inserted into a lengthy criminal sentencing bill two years ago.

	"The provision was stuck in a bill that was 1,000 pages long,"
	said Kathy Fleck, a spokeswoman for Gov. George Voinovich.

	"There were a number of points that were hotly debated in the
	Legislature," she said. "This particular issue was not."

	Since it took effect July 1, there's no indication anyone tried to
	invoke the law, which doesn't prevent people from being charged
	with possession of marijuana. A judge or jury, however, can take
	into consideration a defendant's written recommendation from a
	doctor to use marijuana.

	Voinovich, Attorney General Betty Montgomery and former state Sen.
	Tim Greenwood -- the sponsor of the sentencing bill -- all said
	they had no idea the marijuana defense had become law.

	"The attorney general tries to follow important pieces of
	legislation, but is not able to know what's on every page of every
	bill passed by the Legislature," Weaver said.

	"Why not?," asked Bob Demuth, a Grandview resident getting an
	early jump on this Christmas shopping downtown. "They shouldn't
	put so much in them if people can't understand them."

	The issue didn't surface until Wednesday when it was reported by
	The Cincinnati Enquirer and the Columbus Dispatch.

	The attorney general's staff immediately began writing a new bill
	to override the marijuana law. Lawmakers are expected to introduce
	the bill when they reconvene in January.

	"I think there's a fear that a doctor with particularly liberal
	idea of what an illness is may write prescriptions for marijuana
	willy-nilly," Weaver said.

	People who suffer from cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and
	some rare genetic diseases say marijuana helps control nausea and
	muscle spasms, eases eye pressure and pain and stimulates
	appetite. Pot-using patients insist it works better than other
	drugs, including the expensive Marinol, a pill that contain's
	marijuana's active ingredient, THC.

AP-WS-11-27-96 1854EST


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