BY MARK GILLISPIE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND (AP) Ohioans wanting medical marijuana have been crossing the border into Michigan, where some Detroit-area dispensaries will sell to out-of-staters who are issued recommendations for cannabis use months ahead of the drug becoming available in their home state, according to officials from a company providing the recommendations.
Those recommendations, given by doctors working for a Toledo business or any other Ohio physician, wont necessarily help someone in court if they are busted for having pot into Ohio. Possession of less than 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) is a minor misdemeanor in Ohio with a maximum $150 fine, but could lead to someone losing their driving privileges for six months.
While its a violation of federal law to cross state lines with marijuana, legally obtained or not, the likelihood of someone being prosecuted federally for carrying smaller amounts of marijuana is negligible.
Even so, there needs to be clearer guidance on the early medical-pot recommendations, said Chris Lindsey, an attorney for the national advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project.
They didnt revisit the language to ensure patients were protected, Lindsey said.
Ohios medical law was approved last year and requires that dispensaries must open by September 2018. The Ohio Attorney Generals Office says marijuana possession, medical or otherwise, remains illegal while state agencies write the rules and regulations on how cannabis can be grown and sold.
The doctors working for Toledos Omni Medical Services are relying on an ambiguous provision in the new law that says doctors can give people affirmative defense letters to use in court if cited or arrested for possession ahead of dispensaries opening.
The apparent loophole says that there must be a doctor-patient relationship and that a person must have one of the Ohio laws 21 qualifying conditions for medical marijuana use, which include cancer, AIDS, Alzheimers disease and epilepsy.
Louis Johnson, Omnis managing director, said he conferred with attorneys and the Ohio Medical Board before the companys two physicians began making recommendations.
We know what were doing is legal, Johnson said. Were out in the open. Were not hiding in the dark.
The state medical board said it would investigate complaints against physicians who have recommended medical marijuana, but did not say whether doctors who followed the provisions requirements could face discipline. A medical board spokeswoman said all investigations are confidential and wouldnt say whether the board has received any complaints about physicians making marijuana recommendations.
Johnson said he and his doctors are interested only in helping people get medicine they need. Hundreds of people have been given recommendations so far, but he wouldnt offer a more detailed number, he said.
Were not here to serve people to get high, Johnson said. Thats not what were about.
Omni patients pay $250 for the initial visit and must provide copies of medical records to prove they qualify for medical cannabis. Patients receive the recommendations, an affirmative defense letter and medical marijuana card labeled with Omnis name, not the state of Ohio. All three documents are supposed to be good for 90 days.
The Associated Press found no reports that anyone has been arrested for bringing medical pot in from Michigan. But it did find one instance in Ohio in which an affirmative defense ...
