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The Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee met on Thursday, February 8, 2017. Not all Committee Members were present. Patient Representative Ted Bibart resigned on February 2, 2018. His letter of resignation indicates his concerns that there was no opportunity for significant dialogue during the meetings, and no working group sessions amongst the members. Mr. Bibart stated that the Board has been left with a forum that is ill-equipped to consider, discuss, and develop substantive policy recommendations for presentation to the regulators. Mr. Bibart added the program is on its way to be debilitated by a bureaucracy that has failed to provide adequate patient access and physician participation.

The Ohio Department of Commerce reported 70 requests for a hearing from companies that did not receive a provisional medical marijuana cultivator license. Several hearings have been held. In addition, the Department is reviewing over 100 processor applications. The Department hopes to name the provisional medical marijuana processor licensees in early spring 2018. More will be known at next month’s Committee meeting. No licenses have been awarded to testing laboratories.

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy is still reviewing the 377 applications it received for medical marijuana dispensary licenses. It hopes to award the provisional medical marijuana dispensary licenses in spring 2018. Some applicants will receive deficiency notices. These applicants will be given an additional five days to provide information to the Board. If no response is received, fees are forfeited and the Board will not act upon the application.

The State Medical Board of Ohio announced there are several courses available for physicians to take that would allow them to recommend medical marijuana to patients. It is unknown how many physicians at this time are interested in obtaining a certificate to recommend medical marijuana.

Auditor of State Dave Yost continues his investigation of Commerce’s policies and procedures in place during the review and grading of cultivator applications and the subsequent selection and award of provisional licenses. In a letter dated February 6, 2018, Auditor Yost informed Commerce Director Jacqueline Williams that a control weakness was identified: two administrators had unlimited access to all accounts and portals assigned to individual reviewers throughout the entire grading process, while also having related responsibilities. Auditor Yost says this control weakness could allow an administrator access to manipulate documents, such as scoring, while logged in as an account holder rather than their own administrative account. As a result, his office cannot rely upon the cultivator application scores. He recommended that the Department immediately adopt and implement an IT policy that prohibits personnel from accessing networks, files, systems, or accounts of other persons without proper authorization. Director Williams responded that there is no evidence of improper conduct in awarding the provisional licenses.

If you had any questions or concerns about the Medical Marijuana Control Program, you should talk with an attorney at Graff & McGovern. John Izzo, can be reached at johnizzo@grafflaw.com or 614-228-5800, extension 5.