--- description: Gov. John Kasich signed the bill into law on Wednesday title: Ohio Legalizes Marijuana for Medical Use image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13a0286326ecd9d3/6988971cbc6cfcdda73dd541/ohio-legalize-medical-marijuana.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ohio Legalizes Marijuana for Medical Use  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 9, 2016 2:26 PM CUT  an opened container of medical marijuana an opened container of medical marijuanaBelterz—Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 9, 2016 2:26 PM CUT Ohio Governor John Kasich [signed a bill](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/john-kasich-medical-marijuana-ohio-224091 "undefined") legalizing marijuana on Wednesday, making Ohio the 26th state to legalize the substance for medical uses. In May, the state’s General Assembly [passed the bill](http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/06/08/Kasich%5Fsigns%5Fmedical%5Fmarijuana%5Fbill.html "undefined") allowing doctors to prescribe forms of marijuana to patients. It requires that marijuana be available within two years, from a “seed-to-sale” system within Ohio, the Columbia _Dispatch_ reports. Kasich had said he supported the measure, but the Governor’s office said he had to study the details of the bill before deciding whether he would sign it. He did so within a few hours of receiving the legislation. The bill only allows doctors to assign marijuana for patients with [certain conditions](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/john-kasich-medical-marijuana-ohio-224091 "undefined"), such as cancer, AIDS and epilepsy. \[[_Columbia Dispatch_](http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/06/08/Kasich%5Fsigns%5Fmedical%5Fmarijuana%5Fbill.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4362524/ohio-legalizes-marijuana/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4362524/ohio-legalizes-marijuana/"},"headline":"Ohio Legalizes Marijuana for Medical Use","datePublished":"2016-06-09T14:26:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:29:37.845Z","description":"Gov. John Kasich signed the bill into law on Wednesday","url":"https://time.com/4362524/ohio-legalizes-marijuana/","keywords":["politics","Ohio","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13a0286326ecd9d3/6988971cbc6cfcdda73dd541/ohio-legalize-medical-marijuana.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13a0286326ecd9d3/6988971cbc6cfcdda73dd541/ohio-legalize-medical-marijuana.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ohio legalize medical marijuana","caption":"ohio legalize medical marijuana","creditText":"Belterz—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4362524/ohio-legalizes-marijuana/","name":"Ohio Legalizes Marijuana for Medical Use"}}]}] ```