COLUMBUS— Yesterday, Senators Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights) and David Burke (R-Marysville) completed the planned stops on their Medical Marijuana Listening Tour with a visit to Toledo. The tour also included events in Cleveland and Cincinnati. Written and spoken testimony from hundreds of Ohioans has provided the senators with a broad spectrum of opinions from proponents, opponents, and interested parties regarding medical marijuana in Ohio.

“I really appreciate the mothers, fathers, veterans, and so many others who came out to testify and listen to their neighbors.  I was impressed with the quality of the arguments we heard,” said Senator Yuko. “We wanted to make sure we heard from people who would be personally affected by medical marijuana. When we looked out at rooms filled with those people living with pain and illnesses, we were shown the faces of hope.”

The senators listened to a variety of proponents and opponents of medical marijuana, including the families of children with intractable seizures, veterans with PTSD, individuals with MS, individuals recovering from addiction, people with intractable and chronic pain, cancer survivors, members of law enforcement, various health professionals and concerned citizens. 

 “Many thanks to my colleague, Senator Burke, for listening to people across Ohio, and thank you to our staff for organizing these events,” said Senator Yuko. “Even though our tour together is done for now, we still have a lot of people to listen to, work to do and compromises to reach. I’m excited to continue collaborating with Senator Burke on the subject of medical marijuana.” 

The senators will continue talking with interested parties in their districts and various experts in order to make progress on this issue.