Ohio Group Is Educating Ohio Doctors About Medical Marijuana

The Ohio Rights Group is focusing on educating the state’s medical professionals regarding medical marijuana’s healing potential. John Pardee, of Oberlin, hosted a fundraiser Monday that raised $4,500 to aid medical professionals in attending the Medical Cannabis Education Symposium in Columbus later in May.

The group’s goal, according to Brandon Bashak of North Central Ohio NORML, is to send at least 20-students to the symposium, The Chronicle reports. The Cannabis Expertise symposium is a three-day educational training regarding medical marijuana. The idea is to get medical professionals “up to speed” in a short amount of time.

Bashak said, “We got a lot of progress here because we got a lot of like-minded people in the same room from different walks of life having all kinds of different perspectives on this issue to come together and forward this movement.”

Oberlin City Councilwoman Kelley Singleton said, “It was exciting to see that there’s so much local support for this issue, and it’s important for patients, and it’s important for families to make sure that this happens the right way.”

Cheryl McDaniel, CEO of Extra Step Assurance, explained that the efforts made toward legalization will mean little if medical professionals aren’t educated. Extra Step Assurance runs the Cannabis Expertise symposium.

She said, “There’s a need, now that we’re a medical marijuana state, to get patients the access they need, and we can’t do that unless the medical professionals have that training.”

Former Baltimore Ravens player, Eugene Monroe, shared his personal story and discussed the frequency of NFL players receiving opioids.

Monroe said, “Education again is so critical… people who believe that medical marijuana is a dangerous drug, through education we can continually prove that those things are false.”

Monroe commented that medical marijuana could potentially save young athletes’ lives when opiates are prescribed for injuries. Monroe also mentioned that marijuana is falsely accused of being a gateway drug.

Senator Kenny Yuko spoke at the fundraiser about his personal experience after surviving cancer himself.

Regarding having cancer, Yuko said, “You’re sick as a dog for weeks. We gotta do better. We’re the greatest nation in the world.”

Yuko said that Pardee is “singularly responsible” for medical marijuana legalization in Ohio.