Crystals of THC are visible on cannabis buds. THC is the psychoactive component in marijuana.
An Overview of Marijuana in Ohio
Weed, dope, mary jane, pot, ganja, grass, marijuana, cannabis or whatever you refer to it as is slowly gaining traction in Ohio. On June 8, 2016 Ohio House Bill 523 was signed, effectively legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Ninety days later on Sept. 8, 2016 the bill went into effect. Since then, there have been delays in the roll out of a state sponsored medical marijuana program.
Governor Kasich set a deadline for September 2018 for the launch of the new medical program that would allow residents to purchase marijuana for medical purposes under strict supervision by the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program, Ohio Department of Commerce, State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy and State Medical Board of Ohio. The program failed to meet that deadline due to the delay of inspections of cultivators. In order to be able to grow marijuana, cultivators must receive a certificate of operation. Dispensaries, testing centers and processors must also meet similar requirements.
After a four month delay, the first medical marijuana sold in Ohio was sold in January 2019. Many dispensaries, cultivators and testing facilities are slowly opening, many not having yet received a certificate of operation. Currently there are nine cultivators, 45 dispensaries, 12 processors, and three testing facilities that have received certificates of operation.
In order to qualify for the medical marijuana program, patients must meet one of the 23 qualifying conditions which includes conditions like chronic pain, epilepsy and cancer. Patients must then see a physician who is certified to recommend cannabis. Patients are entered into an online registry and must pay an application fee before receiving a medical marijuana patient card. The card allows patients to then go to dispensaries where they can purchase certain forms of cannabis.
The 2016 bill is not the first time Ohioans have voted on marijuana legalization. In 2015 ResponsibleOhio, a group campaigning to legalize marijuana in Ohio, promoted Issue 3, a bill that would effectively create a monopoly on marijuana in Ohio as the bill designated 10 specific growers and only allowed for the application of more after a four year period if the current growers could not meet the demand. On the same ballot, Issue 2, promoted by the state legislature, called for no monopolies, essentially creating a legal battle if Issue 3 had passed. Issue 3 was defeated by 63% of voters.
Currently, there are 33 states with medical marijuana programs and 11 states that are fully legal included recent additions Michigan and Illinois. Federally, cannabis is still classified as a Schedule 1 drug, making it illegal. While many states have legal or medical programs, it is still illegal to carry cannabis across state lines or use medical cards in different states.
The Cannabis Museum: History of Cannabis
Don Wirtshafter poses for a portrait in his home. Don has been collecting cannabis artifacts including medicine jars like the ones behind him for over 40 years.
Hidden in Guysville, Ohio is one of the largest collections of cannabis related items. Don Wirtshafter, owner of The Cannabis Museum, has been collecting cannabis paraphernalia for 40 years. Wirtshafter’s collection is not what you’d expect - there’s no bongs and grinders here - instead Wirtshafter’s collection contains ancient jars used to hold cannabis tinctures, decades old Mickey Mouse cartoons that mention psychedelics, posters from famous events, old doctors prescriptions for marijuana and incredibly a document for the sale of hemp signed by John Hancock, among many other items.
Wirtshafter, an Ohio based attorney, has been advocating for legal, homegrown marijuana for over 40 years. Wirtshafter founded the Ohio Hempery in the 1990s, producing hemp based products such as fabric, paper and oil from imported hemp. Wirtshafter has also been a figure in a number of activism groups such as Grassroots Ohioans, Ohio Rights Group and National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and spends time speaking about cannabis at different conventions and events.
Artifact jars that once held cannabis tinctures or pills sit on the workbench in The Cannabis Museum. Wirtshafter owns dozens of bottles similar to these and many were used as recently as the 1800s.
The collection, while labeled under the name The Cannabis Museum, has no official museum building. It’s currently housed in Wirtshafer’s old Hempery and his home with about five employees helping to maintain it. The collection, which is constantly growing, still has visitors as Wirtshafter allows people to come view the collection. Most of the collection is photographed in their on-site studio, allowing them to sell prints to different places as well as present the collection without risking light damage. Recently, the museum had prints and select artifacts on display at the Lloyd Library in Cincinnati.
While there are different ideas being thrown around, from selling off parts of the collection to different institutions to a storefront in Athens, the museum hopes to eventually have a building of some sort to house the collection as well as provide a space for research and events, according to Cannabis Museum Project Director Liz Crow.
According to employee Liz Crow, the goal of the museum, “Is for posterity, to show the world, because if you don’t expose the history, history is sure to be repeated.”
Historically, cannabis was used as an herbal medicine as far back as 500 B.C. and was sold by doctors and pharmacists in the United States and Europe in the 1800s, according to History.com. Cannabis was legal up until 1937 with the passage of The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which criminalized all but industrial uses of cannabis. In 1970 cannabis was reclassified as a Schedule I drug with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 as a part of President Richard Nixon’s ‘War on Drugs’.
Wirtshafter, a big advocate for cannabis, hopes to teach people the history of cannabis with his museum in hopes of spreading awareness of the plant.
Growing Cannabis: GrowOhio
Cars pass in front of GrowOhio on Route 22 in Zanesville. GrowOhio is one of the first approved growing facilities.
Under the current medical marijuana program in Ohio, it is still illegal to grow marijuana. The state has mandated certain businesses that can grow marijuana in order to provide for the state medical program. Currently there are nine cultivators with the Level 1 license and nine cultivators with the Level 2 license. Level 1 licensees are permitted to operate up to 25,000 square footage of growing space while Level 2 licensees are permitted to operate up to 3,000 square footage of growing space.
Growing the actual marijuana takes time and was one of the reasons the first sales of marijuana in Ohio were delayed. From seed to sale, the process of cultivation can take around 5-6 months. Plants are grown from seeds or clones cut from other plants and take about 3-4 months to grow. After the buds are cut from the plants, they have to dry and cure for another 2-3 weeks. Following that, samples are sent to an independent lab for testing and then if approved, the cannabis flower can now be sold.
GrowOhio, a Level 1 cultivator located in Zanesville, grows flower as well as uses their product in gummies, tinctures and oils, according to Cleveland.com. Plants are cultivated to have different terpenes and cannabinoid profiles.
Recommending Cannabis: Dr. Bigony
In order to purchase medical marijuana, patients first have to receive a recommendation from a certified physician. Currently there are 590 physicians with certificates to recommend medical marijuana to patients in Ohio. In order to receive the certification, physicians must be registered in the state of Ohio and complete at least two hours of continuing medical education.
Patients who wish to receive the medical marijuana card must have one of the 23 qualifying conditions. Currently the conditions that qualify are AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, hepatitis C, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, positive status for HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, spinal cord disease or injury, Tourette’s syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and ulcerative colitis.
Once a patient has been seen by physician, the physician has 90 days to enter the patient in the statewide patient registry. The registry allows dispensaries and physicians to look up patients but patients are still required to have the medical card.
According to Dr. Chad Bigony, who runs Athens Integrative Medicine in Athens, Ohio and is certified to recommend medical marijuana, in September 2018 when the medical program went live, doctors were able to recommend marijuana but there was no registry to enter patients into until all of a sudden in December 2018.
Dr. Bigony, who is an independent practitioner, says that many of physicians recommending medical marijuana are other doctors with their own practices like him. According to him, hospitals like the Cleveland Clinic don’t allow their physicians to get the certificate to recommend.
So far, Dr. Bigony says he has not turned anyone away from a recommendation who has one of the qualifying conditions, but he has had a few special cases
“One guy we thought was on parole. And we didn't want to get him in trouble by recommending and then him failing his parole status. I mean, he definitely had the conditions to qualify, but we didn't know how that was going to affect his parole. So we didn't. We put everything in place but didn't actually activate it until we can talk to the parole officer board to make sure we're not, you know, setting somebody up for failure.” said Bigony.
In another case, Bigony had a patient that dealt a lot with firearms. Medical marijuana patients can’t buy firearms because medical marijuana is still federally illegal, so he had to turn the patient away.
Patients can also technically be fired from their jobs for using medical marijuana, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Testing Cannabis: Hocking College Facility
Before marijuana products are sold at dispensaries, the cannabis has to be tested by a licensed third party lab. So far only three of the five applications have been given certificates of operation. The state mandated that at least one of the testing facilities be university operated. Currently, only one of the three operational facilities is run by a university.
Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, opened its analytical lab earlier this year in conjunction with their Cannabis Laboratory Science major. Hocking College is the first Associate Degree in Laboratory Sciences with a major in Cannabis Laboratory in the United States. Hocking College’s analytical lab is one of the first in the state and tests cannabis from different state cultivators.
According to Director of Laboratory Sciences Dr. Jonathan Cachat, the cannabis lab technician program will train students for careers in cannabis testing as well as prepare them for any lab technician job.
The students will have classes and work in a lab adjacent to the Hocking College Analytical Lab, which is the state certified lab. Students will have the opportunity to shadow in the lab.
The Hocking College Analytical lab receives a percentage of each growers’ product, testing it and then ultimately destroying it. The lab tests for traces of heavy metals, molds, pesticides and other contaminants. The lab also tests the amount of terpenes and cannabinoids in the flower.
“Patients can rest assured that it's safe and they can also rest assured that they know what they're consuming. I like to call it informed consumption. You want to know what your consumers like a nutritional facts label.” said Dr. Cachat
Purchasing Cannabis: Dispensaries
Buckeye Botanicals in Jackson, Ohio is the only dispensary with a Certificate of Operation open within 100 miles in Southeast Ohio.
In order to purchase medical marijuana, patients have to visit a dispensary following getting a medical card. Dispensaries, just like cultivators, testing centers and processors, are mandated by the state and have to follow strict guidelines. In order to become a registered dispensary, applicants must receive a Certificate of Operation.
Dispensaries offer many different forms of cannabis including flower, tinctures, edibles and wax. Under the medical program, it is still illegal to smoke flower, but it can be put into a vaporizer. According to the Ohio Medical Alliance, the lowest price in the state for 2.83 grams of flower, otherwise known as an Ohio Tenth, is $22. Edibles range anywhere from $10 to $50, vape cartridges around $50 and salves upwards of $50. While dispensary prices are not mandated by the state, the state does determine the sales that each dispensary can have. Many have discounts for veterans.
Currently in Southeast Ohio there’s only one operational dispensary, Buckeye Botanicals, located in Jackson, Ohio. Two other dispensaries are also set to open, Strawberry Fields in Logan and Harvest in Athens.
Buckeye Botanicals has been open since earlier this year and offers an on site pharmacist to help patients. When patients arrive, they are greeted in a waiting area and their information is looked up on a patient registry. For new patients, a consultation with a pharmacist is offered and then the patient is brought to the sales associate who finalizes their purchase. All employees and patients have to be approved by the board of pharmacy and no one else is allowed back into the dispensary.
Buckeye Botanicals Assistant Manager Chelsie Azbell enjoys working at Buckeye Botanicals, she says it gives her a chance to help others.
“I can't wait to see where it is in the next couple years, I hope it becomes more affordable and accessible to more people who are in need. The greatest thing in my opinion would be to see it accessible to people to be able to use it as a treatment for opioid addiction. That's part of the reason I got into this was, to try to help people,” said Azbell.
Harvest of Athens, set to open earlier this year, still has not opened. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Harvest lied on their application and did not meet the state’s definition of an economically disadvantaged group as they claimed. On the application, Harvest claimed the business was owned by an African-American businesswoman in Northeast Ohio, which allegedly is not true. Harvest of Athens says they will still open after the issue is resolved.
Harvest of Athens remains unopened after failing to accurately fill out the state's application. Harvest claimed an African-American woman was the business owner when Harvest is part of a large chain of dispensaries.
Using Medical Cannabis: Joe Brumfield
Joe Brumfield, a muscular dystrophy patient takes a drag on a marijuana joint as he converses with friends at work to subdue his pain and discomfort associated with muscular dystrophy.
Joe Brumfield used to be a soccer player, but now he struggles to walk up the stairs. Diagnosed in 2004, Joe Brumfield copes with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a degenerative disease that causes weakening in the muscles of the arms and legs. He uses cannabis to help manage the pain and uncomfort of his muscular dystrophy, but high costs prevent him from participating in Ohio’s medical marijuana program and purchasing cannabis legally.
In high school, Brumfield was a varsity soccer player. He was a good player and loved the sport, but he couldn’t keep up with his teammates.
“To me, I just wasn’t working hard enough to be strong,” Brumfield says. He wasn’t the only one who noticed. Brumfield’s coach approached his parents, telling them he wasn’t keeping up like he used to.
Magnets advertising CBD Oil, an oil derived from a THC free cannabis strain, and a cannabis corporation sit on the Brumfield’s fridge next to family pictures and Athena’s drawings.
Joe’s wife Sara helps his daughter Athena examine a scrape on Athena’s arm that she got at school while Joe watches from the couch, unable to easily move to the other room.
In 1991, Brumfield graduated high school. With no post-graduate plans, he felt aimless, ultimately turning to the military in search of direction.
In 2001, Brumfield signed up for the military in hopes of being sent to Afghanistan. During a physical in preparation for the military, the doctor noticed how Brumfield pushed down on his knees when standing up. The doctor recommended that he see an orthopedic doctor and suggested he wait until the following month to enlist.
At the time, Brumfield didn’t have insurance and was unable to see a doctor. He says the military never followed up with him.
“I lucked out because I didn't get sent to Afghanistan and because I didn't make it into the military. I would have hated it,” Brumfield says. He says he’s lucky in other ways too, because no one saw his diagnosis coming.
In 2004, Brumfield was officially diagnosed with muscular dystrophy following a period of, as he says, feeling hurt. A biopsy at West Virginia University concluded he had muscular dystrophy. Following his initial diagnosis, Brumfield went another 16 years before seeing another muscular dystrophy specialist. Currently, he awaits his results from a DNA test his doctor ran in October 2019.
While he does take some other medications, Brumfield’s main treatment for his condition for the past 16 years has been cannabis.
Brumfield started smoking in high school, around 1996, in as Brumfield says, how most people start, when one of his friends was smoking and offered some to Brumfield.
Currently, Brumfield has a recommendation for the medical marijuana card from a physician, but has put off getting the card itself due to the cost. To him, it’s worth it to just keep getting it through other means rather than pay the yearly fees to keep the card as well as the high cost of the product itself.
Cannabis has opened up a life for Brumfield, and not just medically. Brumfield is an employee at the Cannabis Museum in Southeast Ohio, a collection of marijuana paraphernalia including posters, art and artifacts including jars and canisters hundreds of years old that held cannabis that was used for different medicinal purposes.
Don Wirtshafer, a former lawyer, has been collecting the artifacts for around 40 years, storing it in his now defunct hempery business in Guysville as well as in his house in anticipation of hopefully displaying the collection in a museum of his own.
Brumfield met Wirtshafer when Brumfield was getting evicted from a property owned by another lawyer Wirtshafer knew. Wirtshafer took in Brumfield and his wife Sara and their young daughter Athena, helping him get back on his feet and into another house while also offering him a job helping out with his collection.
Now Brumfield and his family live in a small, two bedroom one bathroom house only a block from the building where the collection is stored, allowing Brumfield to get to work easier. Even though his work is only a block away, his wife Sara often drives him to and from work, as the walk from work to the house can sometimes trip Brumfield up, causing him to fall.
Mainly Brumfield uses cane-like crutches to move around as well as a chair lift that allows Brumfield to go up the stairway at work. Wirtshafer bought Brumfield a wheelchair which currently sits in a corner of the building, hardly ever used.
Athena sits in Joe’s unused wheelchair that remains at the cannabis museum while waiting for him to walk out the door and head home for the day.
Joe and his boss Don Wirtshafer, a retired lawyer and current cannabis artifact collector, discuss while working at Wirtshafer’s Cannabis Museum. Wirtshafer hired Brumfield after he was evicted from the property of another lawyer.
To Brumfield, his condition is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse.
“I do get pissed off when I hear people complain about certain things because it's like, man, I can’t tell you how much I love to be able to do that, you know, but it's just, it's an ebb and flow. It's, you know, there's, there's good with the bad,” Brumfield says. “I understood when I realized that I had a condition that was not going to get better. It kind of checks off a bunch of boxes that you don't have to go back and look at or worry about. Like what am I gonna do for a job? Well, this gives you the perfect opportunity to do what you're passionate about.”
Brumfield has embraced his passions and when he’s not working at the museum, he’s working as a freelance artist, illustrating images related to cannabis and gonzo journalism, as Hunter S. Thompson’s work was a huge inspiration to him. Some of his artwork has appeared around Athens, gracing tables in Fluff Bakery and electrical boxes on East State Street as well as creating all the artwork for the museum.
Brumfield spends his time advocating for the complete legalization of marijuana. Brumfield is a member of Grassroots Ohioans, an activist group aiming to see the legalization of marijuana as well as the ability to grow it in their own homes. The group has been influential in passing ordinances in towns across Ohio decriminalizing or reducing fees of misdemeanor marijuana offenses. Currently, they are working on an amendment legalizing marijuana that they are currently getting signatures for.
Even more than cannabis and illustration, Brumfield’s family is his main priority. He enjoys spending time with his daughter Athena, who is named after the city of Athens, playing video games and watching movies.
Despite his condition, Athena treats him as a normal dad. Brumfield says that it frustrates him though that he can’t do certain things like pick up Athena when she falls and hurts herself or play sports with his daughter.
Brumfield says his condition goes through cycles of getting worse and plateauing or remaining the same. Right now, he says, it has remained about the same. Currently, the family is looking forward to hopefully moving to a new house and the eventual opening of the museum.
Recreational Use
A student lights a packed bong which was purchased legally. While smoking cannabis is still illegal, it doesn't stop many people from still growing it, purchasing it and smoking it.
CBD gummies are available for purchase at gas stations, convenience stores and just about anywhere else. Even after the pharmacy board said CBD was illegal, many places still sold it.
While marijuana usage outside of the state program is still illegal, many Ohioans choose to overlook the laws and use cannabis recreationally. In Ohio, selling tobacco and marijuana paraphernalia is not illegal and products such as vapes, bongs, bowls, and grinders made for marijuana usage are sold widely in smoke shops.
Marijuana brought in from other states, grown secretly or imported from elsewhere is commonly sold on the street for around $35 for an eighth of a gram.
Many cities have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Larger cities Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati all have reduced penalties for small amounts of cannabis and other smaller cities such as Bellaire, Logan, Newark, Roseville, Athens, Fremont, Norwood, Oregon, Windham, Bremen, Nelsonville, and Northwood all have decriminalized cannabis.
CBD, another type of cannabinoid that doesn’t has psychoactive properties and is known for its medicinal uses is widely available in Ohio. Different forms of CBD products are available at gas stations, convenience stores and other retail places.
According to the Ohio state pharmacy board, CBD is technically cannabis and illegal, but that did not stop producers from selling it in Ohio.
On July 30, 2019, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 57, legalizing the use and sale of CBD and hemp in Ohio. This followed the signage of 2018 Farm Bill by President Donald Trump which removed hemp from the list of controlled substances.
While many other states already allow the growing and sale of hemp, Ohio is now waiting on standard to be put in place by the U.S. Department of Agriculture before hemp can actually be grown in Ohio.
A tincture is added to a cookie already infused with cannabis to make it stronger. While edibles are sold as a part of the medical marijuana program, many people choose to make them illegally as they as less obvious than smoking.
The Fight for Legalization: Saraquoia Bryant
Cool Digs owner Saraquoia Bryant stands in front of her kenaf plant that grows behind her shop. Kenef is a plant similar to hemp as it is also a bast fiber but it is more closely related to hibiscus plants than cannabis.
While 2015’s attempt to legalize marijuana in Ohio was defeated, the fight for legalized recreational marijuana in Ohio has not ended.
Saraquoia Bryant, who owns Cool Digs, an Athens, Ohio gardening store and rock shop, is an activist for the legalization of cannabis in Ohio. Bryant, a member of activist group Grassroots Ohioans, has been working on a citizens’ amendment to Ohio’s constitution since 2016 that calls for the legalization of cannabis. According to her amendment, the rights to possess, share, cultivate and market cannabis belong to the people and are unalienable rights.
“We want full legalization. We want home grow. We want people to actually have access to medicine.” said Bryant.
Originally, when the amendment was written in 2016 following ResponsibleOhio’s failed monopoly on marijuana production, it called for legalized hemp and medical uses as well under the same idea that it is an inalienable right. Bryant says that the current medical program is essentially a monopoly as well, just like what was voted against originally. The amendment calls for equal access for cannabis, but also allows for commercial production to be taxed and regulated. Bryant hopes that it can be regulated and taxed in similar ways to other agricultural products such as hemp.
According to Bryant, the main challenge to getting this amendment on the ballot is collecting signatures. To get it on the ballot, they need 400,000 valid signatures and they have to be from 5% of voters in at least half of Ohio’s counties. To hire a signature petitioning company, it would cost them around $2.8 million so they’ve been relying on the public’s help to sign the petition themselves and have their friends sign and then send the signatures back to them.
Grassroots Ohioans was also responsible for the passage of TACO, an ordinance in the city of Athens, Ohio aimed at decriminalization. Athens was the fifth city to decriminalize, lowering the fines and court costs to $0 following Toledo’s decriminalization. In November, Grassroots Ohioans successfully got the city of Nelsonville to also pass a decriminalization ordinance.
