COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio legalized medical marijuana, but that doesn't mean anyone can light up a joint whenever they please -- far from it.

Legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. John Kasich creates a regulated program controlled by three government agencies that won't be set up for at least a year. And the law explicitly prohibits smoking marijuana or growing it at home.

The law leaves much of the details of the program up to the Ohio Department of Commerce, State Pharmacy Board, State Medical Board and a yet to be appointed bipartisan advisory committee.

But here are answers to some of readers' most frequently asked questions about the law.

What are the qualifying medical conditions?

Patients qualify if they have the following conditions: HIV/AIDS; Alzheimer's disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); cancer; chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE); Crohn's disease; epilepsy or another seizure disorder; fibromyalgia; glaucoma; hepatitis C; inflammatory bowel disease; multiple sclerosis; pain that is chronic and severe, or intractable; Parkinson's disease; post traumatic stress disorder; sickle cell anemia; spinal cord disease or injury; Tourette's syndrome; traumatic brain injury; and ulcerative colitis. Individuals can petition the state medical board to add conditions.

Doctors must register with the state, which will require completing some type of continuing education about cannabis, before being able to recommend marijuana to patients with whom they have bona fide relationships. The patient registration process would be determined by the Ohio State Pharmacy Board.

When can I use marijuana?

If you would qualify under the law's conditions (see below) and have written permission from your doctor, then you could use marijuana without going to jail in early September. The exact date will be 90 days from when the secretary of state officially files the law. The law doesn't say where patients would get their marijuana before dispensaries are set up, but it's assumed they would get it from another state or Ohio's existing black market.

Dispensaries won't be set up for a least a year, maybe longer. The law requires the whole program to be operational within two years.

Can registered patients get fired for using medical marijuana?

Yes. Despite changing state laws, marijuana remains illegal federally. Courts have consistently upheld employers' right to fire employees for marijuana use, even when it didn't happen on the job.

Ohio is an at-will state where employees can be fired for any reason. Additionally, the law specifies that employees can be fired for marijuana use even if it was recommended to them by a doctor if the employer has a drug-free workplace or zero tolerance policy in place. Employees fired for medical marijuana use are not eligible for unemployment compensation.

I want to own a marijuana business. How can I get a business license?

Details about license requirements and applications are not yet known.

The Department of Commerce, in conjunction with a 14-member bipartisan advisory committee, has until May 2017 to figure that out for cultivators. Lawmakers expect seeds to be in the ground next summer.

The rules and regulations for dispensaries, testing labs and marijuana processors, which will make marijuana-infused products and package everything for sale, must be determined by September 2017.

Will there be a dispensary in my neighborhood?

Maybe. The law requires 500 feet between any marijuana business and a school, church, public library or public playground. Local governments can restrict where cultivators, processors and dispensaries can be located or ban them altogether.

The state pharmacy board will decide how many dispensary licenses to issue, and the law requires it take into account the state's population, patient demand and ensuring dispensaries are not just concentrated in certain parts of the state.

Why no smoking or home grow?

Patients and/or their caregivers can grow their own marijuana in 15 of the 25 medical marijuana states. Four of the 25 states prohibit smoking marijuana, and an additional 17 states allow use of marijuana products that are low in THC, the compound that generates a "high."

Lawmakers said smoking marijuana or growing it outside of a strictly regulated program were off the table from the beginning.

Both aspects ventured into the realm of recreational use, lawmakers said, and would have been deal breakers for legislators whose votes were crucial to the bill's passage. Also, lawmakers said the idea that people would "smoke their medicine" went against common sense and prevalent public health messages against cigarette smoking.

The law does allow patients to inhale vaporized marijuana.

To read text of the new law, click here.

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