The appointment comes after House Speaker Larry Householder fired Bob Bridges from that post last week. But Householder's newly picked patient advocate has ties to the business side of the issue.
Cincinnati attorney Chris Stock wrote the constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana that voters rejected in 2015. He served on the medical marijuana advisory task force that followed, where lawmakers developed the current medical marijuana program. As the new and only patient advocate for the program’s advisory panel, Stock doesn’t agree with his predecessor that Ohio’s program is overly regulated.
“I don’t share a view that suggests that the state needs to relax regulations unduly," Stock says.
Stock is also part owner of one of the state’s licensed large-scale marijuana growers. But a spokeswoman for Householder says Stock won’t be allowed to be part of any matter that directly impacts that business.
