OH: American Legion Favors Studies Of Medical Marijuana

Katelyn Baker

Well-Known Member
If politics make for strange bedfellows, then the issue of legalized medical marijuana in Ohio certainly has created a few of its own.

The issue has pitted the critically ill and their doctors, who say the drug is safe, cheap and effective, against communities already reeling from the heroin epidemic and concerned about pot shops popping up on Main Street.

Added to that mix are veterans from the American Legion, who are petitioning the U.S. government to reclassify marijuana so studies of its medicinal use can be funded at the federal level.

Frederick Walter, commander of Findlay American Legion Post 3, said Legion members voted to make the issue part of their national agenda in late summer at the national convention held in Cincinnati.

Walter said the American Legion of Ohio has 100,000 members. The Legion has 2.3 million members nationwide.

Walter, 66, of Findlay, served as a staff sergeant in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He is a retiree of Marathon Petroleum Corp. He is also a county-level Legion commander in Hancock and Putnam counties.
Walter said there is enough testimony from veterans about the benefits of medical marijuana to justify the Legion's position.

He said two of the most prevalent injuries of modern wars are traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. Both have symptoms that are alleviated by marijuana, which he said may be safer and cheaper than high-powered psychiatric drugs.

"As the laws are written now, we can't even test marijuana for its medical use," he said. "We want it made available for testing."

Walter said the nation needs answers.

"I don't like burying my friends, especially when it's suicide, and we have a high rate of suicide among veterans with these injuries. Death is a permanent hurt," Walter said.

While the Legion is pushing for changes in federal law, Walter does agree that Findlay's city leaders should ban dispensing, cultivating or processing medical marijuana within the city limits, at least for now. Once the state sets the rules, he hopes Findlay City Council will revisit the issue.

In a split vote Tuesday, council tabled legislation to enact the ban, and requested a rewrite of the ordinance that would require it to be reconsidered once the state enacts regulations regarding medical marijuana.

The ban would make it a first-degree misdemeanor to dispense, cultivate or process medical marijuana in the city, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Violating the city's zoning law could also carry daily fines.

Public hearings must be held before council can change the city's zoning law to reflect the same prohibitions.
Council is expected to revisit the issue at its next meeting on Oct. 18.

Nichole Coleman, executive director of the Hancock County Veterans Service Office, said her office is in "no position" to comment on whether medical marijuana helps injured veterans.

"We are not medical professionals and cannot speak to the value of medical marijuana, and whether it will help or harm our veterans," Coleman said.

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News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: American Legion Favors Studies Of Medical Marijuana
Author: Denise Grant
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