Patients using marijuana could not smoke marijuana flowers nor use cannabis with high levels of THC under revisions expected to be made Wednesday to Ohio's proposed medical marijuana law. 

State lawmakers wrestled with the idea someone would "smoke their medicine" and had initially wanted an appointed commission to decide whether Ohio would allow smoking. But revisions planned for House Bill 523 specify marijuana could not be smoked or available in products attractive to children, such as gummy bears. It would allow patients to use a vaporizer, which heats marijuana to the point it releases chemicals but not smoke.

Marijuana is about the healing, not the high.

That was the take-away Tuesday from a news conference hosted by Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, a political action group that wants to put an initiative on the November ballot for a comprehensive medical marijuana program.

Ohio appears likely to become the 25th state to approve medical marijuana, either through a new state law or a voted constitutional amendment.

State lawmakers and two citizen advocacy groups are working simultaneously on proposals to bring marijuana as medicine to Ohioans with qualifying medical conditions.

But how the legislature and advocates approach the subject is very different, and the two pro-marijuana groups are proposing separate variations as well.

Here are some key differences among the proposed legislation (House Bill 523), the Marijuana Policy Project amendment, and the Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp amendment.

Impact: The legislation would change only Ohio law. Both ballot proposals would amend the Ohio Constitution.

Many of the specifics governing legalized medical marijuana under a plan Ohio legislators introduced this week would fall to a nine-person commission under the Ohio Department of Health.

The Ohio Ballot Board unanimously approved the format of a medical marijuana and hemp constitutional amendment today, clearing the way for backers to gather signatures to put the issue on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Supporters of the Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Amendment must now gather 305,591 valid signatures of registered votes from at least 44 of the 88 Ohio counties.

It is the second medical marijuana issues cleared to try to get on the ballot. An medical-marijuana-only issue backed by the Marijuana Policy Project, a national advocacy organization, was approved by the board two weeks ago. Neither issue includes marijuana for recreational purposes.

COLUMBUS – After years of stonewalling efforts to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio, state lawmakers announced a plan to provide patients with medical marijuana by 2018.

Proposal, which will be introduced this week, would allow Ohioans older than 18 to buy edible marijuana, patches, plant material and oils with their doctors' recommendation.

Who would grow it? That's to be determined.

Within a year, a new commission would create rules on how to grow, distribute and sell medical marijuana. That means patients could have access medical marijuana within two years, maybe less, said Rep. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, who led a several-week task force looking into the benefits of medical marijuana.

After a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana in Ohio was quashed in the November election, some voters may have assumed it would take a while to see a marijuana-related issue show up on the ballot again.

With Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the Ohio Ballot Board’s recent approval of language for an amendment that would allow patients to use medical marijuana with a physician’s approval, Ohio voters may have their say on marijuana use in this coming election.

Now, organizers with Ohioans for Medical Marijuana — which is an affiliate organization of the Marijuana Policy Project in D.C. — have to gather 305,591 signatures by early July for it to appear on the ballot.

By the end of this year, several more states in the U.S. could be among those who have legalized cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. Of course, their success is up to the activists and voters in each state. If you’re in one of these states, here is what you need to know.

States where recreational legalization is on the ballot: Nevada

States where medical legalization is on the ballot: Florida

States where activists are going through the legislature or attempting to make the ballot for recreational or medical legalization: California, Vermont, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, Rhode Island, Maine, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Utah, Arkansas

Long Shots

The Ohio Ballot Board certified an initiative on Thursday, clearing another step to take medical marijuana to a statewide vote.

Ohioans for Medical Marijuana must collect 305,591 signatures from registered voters by early July to get the issue on the November 2016.

The initiative would create a Medical Marijuana Control Division and Medical Marijuana Advisory Board. (Read the full text here)

COLUMBUS — After Ohio voters resoundingly defeated an ill-formed effort to legalize marijuana last fall, everyone started talking about "doing something" on medical marijuana.

The idea was popular with voters: As many as 90 percent of Ohioans say patients should be allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes approved by a doctor. And 23 states already allow some form of medical marijuana. But state lawmakers had rejected attempt after attempt to legalize it, and federal authorities still list marijuana among the most dangerous drugs.