OHSAM Opposes Bill that Adds Opioid Use Disorder as a Qualifying Condition for Medical Cannabis

On November 29th, the Ohio Society of Addiction Medicine (OHSAM) sent a letter to members of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Economic Opportunity opposing SB 261. SB 261 would update the regulatory framework governing the state’s medical cannabis program. Among these updates, the bill would add opioid use disorder to the list of qualified conditions for medical cannabis.

In the letter, OHSAM explained its opposition to SB 261 by emphasizing that there is no scientific evidence to support cannabis as a viable treatment for opioid use disorder. Instead, studies indicate that individuals with opioid use disorder are at higher risk for addiction to cannabis due to common neurochemical pathways. Additionally, OHSAM’s letter clarified that it does not oppose easing barriers to expand research into cannabis. However, buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone are FDA-approved medications proven effective in treating opioid use disorder. Rather than introducing unproven treatments like cannabis, OHSAM recommended that policymakers focus on increasing the availability of these FDA-approved medications. In accordance with this recommendation, OHSAM expressed a desire to work with the legislature to increase the accessibility of FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder.

Read the letter here.