Medical Marijuana Problems

Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, backed by national group Marijuana Policy Project, suspended its ballot initiative campaign Saturday after lawmakers approved medical marijuana legislation.

(Marina Riker, Associated Press)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohioans won't vote on a broader medical marijuana legalization measure in November after state lawmakers passed a bill earlier this week.

Ohioans for Medical Marijuana announced Saturday they suspended their campaign. The decision came three days after the passage of House Bill 523, which allows people with certain medical conditions to use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation and Gov. John Kasich is expected to sign.

"We make this decision with a heavy heart as we will surely disappoint our many volunteers, supporters and patient-advocates who invested considerable time and effort in our movement," campaign manager Brandon Lynaugh said in a statement.

A different group called Grassroots Ohioans has decided it won't try to put its amendment on the ballot this year either.

Ohioans for Medical Marijuana was backed by national group Marijuana Policy Project, which has a track record for successful lobbying and ballot initiative efforts.

When they announced their Ohio effort in January, the GOP-led General Assembly seemed unlikely to pass a comprehensive medical marijuana bill before November.

But testimony from Ohioans who said they would benefit from medical marijuana and the possibility of such a program being written into the Ohio Constitution pushed legislators to pass a bill before leaving Columbus for the summer.

House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger welcomed the news in a statement sent Saturday morning and said it was an indication of lawmakers' willingness to listen and respond to the will of Ohioans.

"Thanks to the open and transparent process that began in the Ohio House in which voices from all sides of the debate were invited to testify, we were able to join together around a proposal that is both reflective of public opinion and protective of the state's constitution," Rosenberger said.

The bill excluded some of the conditions in the proposed amendment and prohibited smoking and growing marijuana plants at home. As the bill moved through the Statehouse, Ohioans for Medical Marijuana said those aspects of the bill pushed them to continue collecting the nearly 306,000 signatures needed to put the measure on the November ballot.

Lynaugh called the House bill "moderately good" and the organization will lobby the legislature to address its shortcomings. Lynaugh said raising money for a medical-only initiative proved difficult after lawmakers passed the bill. And Marijuana Policy Project is pushing recreational marijuana measures in five other states this year.

"The legislature's action on medical marijuana was a step forward, and thanks to the intense advocacy efforts of patients and their families, activists and our team the bill was vastly improved before passage," Lynaugh said.

The announcement drew mixed reactions from Ohio marijuana advocates, many of whom felt the House bill is too restrictive. United Ohio, a patient advocacy group that supported both measures, had hoped voters would be able to weigh in this fall but will continue to work with legislators to improve Ohio's medical marijuana program.

"We may not have home grow. We may be missing important delivery forms. We may not have a robust enough list of qualifying conditions. But we no longer have a state without a medical marijuana program," United Ohio spokesman Brad White said. "And that's more than we had last week. It's time to do everything we can to continue to move Ohio forward."

Follow me on Facebook.