COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An Ohio lawmaker is working to allow seriously ill patients legal access to marijuana. State Representative Kenny Yuko, a Democrat from Richmond Heights near Cleveland, hopes to introduce legislation that would make Ohio the 15th state to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. Yuko told NBC4 he wants to ease what he described as needless pain and suffering associated with a variety of diseases and illnesses.
Yuko suffers from multiple sclerosis, but said he does not wish to use marijuana himself. His effort to help others comes after the Obama administration recently decided not to vigorously prosecute patients in states that allow medical marijuana. Last year, Michigan voters legalized medical marijuana for patients with a license to use the drug.
"We have to get over the image of Cheech and Chong and George Carlin when we talk about medical marijuana and start realizing that most people that are being treated are probably in their 40s or 50s or even older," Yuko said. "This might be their only means of getting some type of relief."
This is not the first attempt by an Ohio lawmaker to work on the issue, but past efforts have not succeeded. Yuko acknowledges it will not be easy to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio. State Senate President Bill Harris, a Republican, has voiced his opposition to the idea.
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