Ohio Medical Marijuana Program Loses 6,000+ Active Patients In December

Gabrielle Dion

Dec 3

MedicateOH Compiles Santa's Wish List to Improve Patient Access in 2024

Ohio's medical marijuana program reported a sharp decline in patients with a drop of more than 6,000 patients from September to October 2023. Voters approved adult-use cannabis via November's election, but licenses won't be issued and citizens won't have access until (at least) next fall.

Because the MMJ program's patient figures had been steadily rising the past several months, this figure represents a dramatic drop in participation. What drove this decline and what can be done about it?

Ohio Medical Marijuana Program by the Numbers

As of August 30th, 182,068 patients had both an active registration and an active recommendation. This was up from 178,709 in July for a gain of 3,359 patients in August 2023.
As of September 30th,184,958 patients had both an active registration and an active recommendation. This was up from 182,068 in August for a gain of 2,890 patients in September 2023
As of October 31st, 178,703 Patients had both an active registration and an active recommendation. This was DOWN from 184,958 in September for a loss of 6,255 patients in October 2023.

Reported by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy 12/1/2023, this most recent benchmark should be alarming to an industry that will rely on this patient base to support operations well into next year when the first adult use dispensary licenses will be issued.

A Sudden Drop in MMJ Patients

Yesterday, Ohio industry leaders were largely quiet about this news. Some even expressed a certain tone-deafness to it by instead posting to social media about trips to Las Vegas for MJ Bizcon taking place this week.

All of this comes on the heels of House Bill 341, House Bill 86 and other foreboding pieces of legislation introduced by lawmakers in recent weeks to drastically limit and change details of the adult use program.

Here's how you can advocate against legislators changing the way the proposal was written.

What Do Industry/Advocates Say About the Drop in MMJ Patients?

Industry experts and advocates from Ohio and around the nation shared insights about the news of the drop in patient numbers in Ohio yesterday on LinkedIn.

We posed the question: "A massive loss of over 6,000 patients reported to the Ohio MMJ program today as adult use was voted in. This is despite the fact that adult use won't start in Ohio until at least next fall. Plus when they do have access, people will have a 10 percent tax added that MMJ cardholders don't pay. Why wouldn't Ohioans want to keep their MMJ cards?"

(Full names have been redacted for privacy and comments have been lightly edited.)

"I believe this pattern has persisted across states that transition. A significant drop off in medical patient counts." -Jesse D.

"Sadly this is an issue around lack of education when it comes to cannabis as medicine. The medical program comes with little to no education on either side– patient or doctor–bringing the value of having a medical card to strictly monetary in rec states. So many patients don't even know about the medicinal properties of the additional products that may be available to them (depending on their state's program). Even the monetary value of the medical card is not well understood by the general public, and in my opinion it has to do with the push to put cannabis in a box with alcohol so as to deter the masses from ever truly seeing it as the sacred, healing thing it is." -Erika T.

"They're buying it off the black market. [They believe] rec means you can get pulled over with it and not need the card to pretend you bought it at a dispensary. They were doing the same when it was only medical, but the card was their get-of-of-jail-free card." -Chris E.

"The folks behind the legalization effort should have thought about that before shooting down two attempts to improve the medical program via SB 261 and SB 9. They worried about themselves and expansion and in the meantime have screwed over patients twice. The LAW of HB 523, the medical program, was to pass amendments to improve the program every 3 years and they have fouled both attempts for their benefit! We could have the license holders' 'concerns' stricken from the amendment of SB 9. And in the meantime institute, ANY PHYSICIAN CAN RECOMMEND FOR ANY CONDITION and every 3 year card renewals, to name just a couple improvements their greedy selves have stricken down. I hope they enjoy the next year of declining patient base. And in the meantime if they don't help Ohio to keep the taxes down, they will lose more business." -Wendy J. (She added the hashtag, #patientsoverprofits.)

"I've heard quite a few say that they don't see a need for a card after December 7th. They know there are no retail locations, but think that possession will be completely different since 'it's legal now'. I had this back and forth with a friend a few days ago. They feel like now they just don't have to hide that they buy off the streets, which obviously we know isn't true. They also believe the medical program is restrictive and they don't go to the doctor or have medical records to get approved for a card. It seems that the consensus from my few discussions has been that now it's just a free for all, when in reality, nothing has changed up to this point." -Amanda F.

"Before California went adult use, the state Department of Public Health estimated hundreds of thousands, if not more than a million, medical cannabis patients in California. By last year, the number of medical cards dropped to just 3,218, among the lowest on record." -Steve P.

"I think cost does have an impact on some patients but prices for a recommendation have come way down and I think a lot of patients don't realize it." -Christine C.

"A small percentage of people that have medical cards admit to using them as a protective measure in case they get tested at work. They still use their street person for flower and maybe get an edible pouch every once in a while from a dispensary… Reanalyzing your state's card registration removing any obstacles for signing back up may help retain some or grow numbers once again. We [Missouri] had a dip for a few months then dispensaries pushed card registration and costs went down. Our numbers are finally climbing again." -Theresa S.

Dear Santa…

This December marks the 5th anniversary of the Ohio Medical Marijuana Program. There have been big and little changes along the way, inching us closer to a patient-friendly market. Yet, there is still so much more work to be done as the plummeting patient numbers reflect.

Patients and industry employees have been asking for changes to the medical marijuana law since it was signed into law in 2016. There have been plenty of changes over the years, but there still exists a huge disconnect between the wants and needs of the people and the rules and regulations set forth by the Board of Pharmacy.

Ohio MMJ Advocates' Santa's Wish List for 2024

MedicateOH reached out to patients and industry employees in recent weeks to see what areas the Ohio Medical Marijuana Program needs to focus on to improve patient numbers. Here is a non-comprehensive list of what Ohio patients and industry employees said they would like to see under the cannabis tree this holiday:

Purchase limit increased/eliminated.
No more "10ths" (Adopt standard 3.5 g instead of 2.83 for flower.)
Allow for combustion (Smoking instead of just vaporizing.)
Eliminate "days" or supply limits.
Adopt "deli-style" cannabis dispensing where patients can see and smell the flower before purchase.
Free speech for budtenders.
Budtenders should be able to accept tips.
A free MMJ card/no fee to register with the state.
Employment protections.
Housing protections.
Home delivery.
Advertisement restrictions lifted.
All methods of administration approved.
Doctor's discretion on recommendation, remove list of qualifying conditions. (Any doctor could recommend an MMJ card based on any condition.)
Allow nurse practitioners to recommend medical marijuana cards.
Allow medical marijuana cards to be issued onsite in dispensaries.
Be allowed to have music at events, be allowed to have events at places that also serve alcohol.
Increased DUI limits.
Increased potency limits.
Standardized label information (Terpenes and cannabinoids all should be listed for every product/brand.)
COA QR code for EVERY product required.
Standardized industry starting pay.
Weedmaps integration.
Out-of-state reciprocity. Patients who hold a MMJ card in other states would be allowed to access Ohio dispensaries and receive the same benefits as an Ohio MMJ cardholder.
Prices to be comparable across the state instead of huge differences from city to city.

What other changes would you like to see? Reach out to us at MedicateOH@gmail.com to give us your feedback.

There is hope that some of these issues will be fixed once the program passes from the Board of Pharmacy to the Department of Commerce at year's end. However, hope only goes so far. There are still so many points that need to be addressed. The people of Ohio need to continue to use their voices for collective change.

Subscribe to MedicateOH to get the latest news about changes to the Medical Marijuana Program, Adult Use program, and ways to advocate for access to cannabis in Ohio.

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