Despite a 2009 poll showing that 73 percent of Ohioans support medical marijuana, politics could prevent Ohio from becoming the 15th state to legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes.

 

State Rep Bob Hagan (D - Youngstown) believes the bill he co-sponsored - which reportedly would allow qualified patients access to marijuana with a doctor's recommendation - is unlikely to progress because legislators "aren't brave enough to pass it."

 

Besides fear of a political backlash for those who vote yes, the bill faces oppostion in the form of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, whose spokeperson recently said that the governor feels that current medications are sufficent to treat patients in Ohio.