A bill authorizing physicians to prescribe marijuana derivatives to treat a host of health conditions was signed into law this afternoon by Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

The second-term Republican had expressed support for the concept, but his office had not said whether he would sign the hard-won legislation until he studied its details. He signed the bill within a couple of hours of it landing on his desk.

The bill passed the Republican-controlled General Assembly — by a 18-15 vote in the Senate and a 67-28 vote in the House — on May 25.

State Sen. Dave Burke, R-Marysville, a pharmacist who carried the bill, predicted that chosen growers could be cultivating marijuana in Ohio soil within a year, with marijuana products tested and available in 16 months.

State Sen. Dave Burke, R-Marysville, a pharmacist who carried the bill, predicted that chosen growers could be cultivating marijuana in Ohio soil within a year, with marijuana products tested and available in 16 months.

However, some believe that time frame is optimistic. The law requires that medical marijuana be available within two years. [Read more at the Columbus Dispatch]