Ohio Group Joins Pot Push

An Ohio group wants its state to join those that have decriminalized medical pot.

Image: Ohio Patient Network

Ohio could be the next state to join the push to legalize medical marijuana.

A group advocating for such legalization has submitted a petition with 2,143 signatures to Attorney General Mike DeWine, the Associated Press reports this morning.

If 1,000 of the signatures are validated and the language allowing qualified patients to possess a little over three ounces of pot is approved, the group would then need to collect an additional 385,245 valid signatures to get the measure on the ballot next year.

Though the federal government classifies marijuana as an illegal narcotic without any medical benefit, more than a dozen states—including Colorado and California—have legalized the drug for medical treatment. And those states use it to treat: glaucoma, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, or any disease that produces severe nausea, wasting, persistent muscle spasms, or chronic pain.

In some of the areas where medical marijuana has been decriminalized, it has provided a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs.

Portfolio.com reported in 2010 that in states like California, where medical marijuana has been decriminalized, businesses have sprouted up to take advantage of the new environment.

And the Denver Business Journal reported earlier this year that the sale of medical marijuana in the United States is expected to hit $1.7 billion this year, according to a report by See Change Strategy, a financial analysis firm.

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