Ohio lawmakers are moving forward with legislation to allow medicinal cannabis for autistic people

A bid in Ohio to allow patients with autism to be treated with medical cannabis gained momentum this week, with lawmakers overwhelmingly passing legislation in the state House on Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican, passed 73 votes to 13, according to Cleveland.com, and will now go to the state Senate for consideration. (Republicans have a majority in both houses.)

“This bill is a direct result of the needs and wants of people in Ohio who are on the autism spectrum,” said Democratic House Representative Juanita Brent, one of the bill’s co-sponsors. “It will help ensure legal access to an herbal solution free from expensive prescription drugs or other outdated and sometimes harmful treatments.”

If the measure eventually becomes law, Ohio would join 17 other states that currently allow patients with autism to be administered medicinal cannabis. Under current Buckeye State medical marijuana law, patients with the following qualifying conditions may be eligible for treatment: AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cachexia, cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or other seizure disorder, fibromyalgia , glaucoma, hepatitis C, Huntington’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable, Parkinson’s disease, positive status for HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell disease, spasticity, spinal cord disease or injury, terminal illness , Tourette’s syndrome, traumatic brain injury and ulcerative colitis.

The bill would also mark a long-awaited breakthrough for advocates who have tried for years, unsuccessfully, to add autism to the state’s list of qualifying conditions.

In 2020, the Ohio State Medical Board denied a petition to add autism and anxiety to the qualifying conditions.

The board received public comments from opponents and supporters of the proposal. Sarah Kincaid of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association said at the time that “the inclusion of autism and anxiety as conditions has the potential to negatively impact the health and well-being of thousands of children in Ohio.”

Carrie Taylor, a mother of two autistic sons, expressed frustration at the time and wondered if autism would ever fall under the state’s medical cannabis law.

“Our voice is not being heard right now,” Taylor said at the time. “These doctors have that thought in their heads, and they’re obviously set in stone where they stand. We’re not trying to give them anything that isn’t legalized for other medical uses.”

Brent, the sponsor of the bill that passed the House of Representatives this week, said in January, “If lawmakers don’t respond to the public outcry for change, I know it will be taken to the ballot box.”

In addition to Brent’s bill, the Ohio State Senate passed its own bill in December that could open medical cannabis treatment to patients with autism.

Under that bill, which was introduced by a GOP state senator and is now under review by a state committee, Ohio physicians could “recommend marijuana for the treatment of any medical condition if the physician, in the physician’s sole discretion and medical opinion, determines any of the following”: ” that the patient’s symptoms can reasonably be expected to be relieved by medical marijuana” and “that the patient may otherwise reasonably benefit from medical marijuana.”

The bill would also specifically add arthritis, migraine headaches, autism spectrum disorder, spasticity or chronic muscle spasms, hospice care or terminal illness, and opioid use disorder to the list of qualifying conditions.

If this bill becomes law, it would be the biggest change to Ohio’s medical cannabis program, which began in 2016.