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Advocate For Patients In Ohio's Medical Marijuana Program Says It's Too Bureaucratic

By Jo Ingles

Published September 9, 2019 at 9:12 PM EDT

Patients line up at Columbus area dispensary [Jo Ingles] — Patients line up at Columbus area dispensary

An advocate for patients in Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Program says he thinks more needs to be done to better serve patients. And he thinks he’s being retaliated against for speaking out about those concerns.

Bob Bridges was removed from the panel by House Speaker Larry Householder.

"I was not a yes man or a yes person," Bridges says.

Bridges says he spoke out against the State Medical Board and the Ohio Board of Pharmacy for preventing many patients with medical conditions not currently recognized by the state from getting cannabis.

“There’s too much bureaucracy in letting the free market of this program work," Bridges says.

In a written statement, Householder doesn’t give a reason for firing Bridges, but says it was time to go in another direction with another appointment soon.