What Ohio hospitals say about medical marijuana – mostly no, but Christ Hospital says yes

With sales of medical marijuana having just started Jan. 16, Ohio's hospitals are figuring out how to handle patients who want to use the drug and doctors who want to recommend it to treat illness. Mostly, the answer is: No.

The Christ Hospital Health Network, however, is taking a pioneering stand, saying it will allow hospitalized patients to use certain forms of medical marijuana.

For hospitals, the situation is complicated. They receive millions of dollars in federal taxpayer money for research and patient care through Medicare and Medicaid. Under federal law, marijuana remains on the Schedule I list of the most dangerous drugs.

But Ohio's law "rescheduled" marijuana into a category with morphine or Adderall -- drugs that patients would still use when hospitalized. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use.

Ohio’s law permits certified doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients to address 21 qualifying conditions, including conditions frequently treated in hospitals such as cancer and epilepsy.

An analysis last year by The Enquirer found that at least three in 10 Ohioans have at least one qualifying condition. As of Jan. 9, the State Medical Board has certified 374 doctors to recommend medical marijuana.

More:Our guide to medical marijuana

The Cleveland Clinic and the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center in Columbus said they will prohibit medical marijuana. Ohio State University said it is working on policies that would permit affiliated doctors to undergo certification to recommend.

OhioHealth, in Central Ohio, will not permit medical marijuana in its hospitals or ambulatory centers, said spokesman Colin Yoder. But eligible hospice patients at the OhioHealth Kobacker House can use medical marijuana. Affiliated doctors can become certified to recommend.

Greater Cincinnati hospitals, in general, are opposed. At UC Health, Amanda Nageleisen, director of media relations, said the region's only academic health system "will not allow the use or possession of medical marijuana on its premises." UC Health doctors, though, are allowed to become certified to recommend.

But at the Christ Hospital Health Network, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Jennings said the system "will allow patients who are hospitalized to continue taking their medical cannabis product (excluding vaped forms) if the treating physician determines that it is safe and appropriate in the context of their illness."

At Bon Secours Mercy Health, Maureen Richmond, vice president for integrated communications, said hospital patients will not be allowed to use medical marijuana. "We do not advise that our physicians undergo the certification program and prohibit our physicians from recommending patients for medical marijuana."

With a parent’s permission, certified Ohio doctors can recommend medical marijuana for children. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has not yet developed a policy for medical marijuana, said spokesman Jim Feuer. "We have not taken a position, for or against, physicians on the medical staff obtaining a certificate to recommend medical marijuana."

TriHealth doctors are permitted to get certified to recommend medical marijuana, said Dr. Bryan Strader, physician executive of TriHealth Physician Partners. For hospitalized patients, however, “We will continue to utilize traditional medications from our formularies for patient care.”

In Kentucky, a bill that would legalize medical marijuana has been introduced this month in the Kentucky legislature. But St. Elizabeth Healthcare said the Edgewood system is opposed to medical marijuana except in studies for use in hospice patients.