Interesting results from early Ohio survey of state doctors concerning medical marijuana

This new local piece, headlined “Survey finds Ohio physicians not yet sold on medical marijuana,” reports on the results of a notable poll taken of Buckeye state doctors concerning medical marijuana. Here are the details:

Only 3 in 10 Ohio doctors responding to a State Medical Board survey indicated they will be likely to recommend medical marijuana to patients under a new state law.

The board received responses from 3,000 of the state’s 46,000 medical and osteopathic doctors during a survey in September. The results were announced at a meeting of the Ohio Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee on Thursday. About 40 percent of respondents say they would not be likely to recommend medical marijuana, 30 percent said they would be likely, and the remaining 30 percent were neutral or had no opinion.

Many physicians surveyed said they might change their mind if the federal Drug Enforcement Administration changed marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug, if they had more peer-reviewed research on the subject, or if they training and education.

The law effective Sept. 8 allows certified physicians to recommend, not prescribe, medical pot for patients with any of 21 qualifying diseases and medical conditions. The rules for the program are just now being proposed. Patients probably won’t have access to the drug until Sept. 2018.