Although a statewide organization of patients had been a long-term dream of many medicinal cannabis activists in Ohio, the Ohio Patient Network began to officially solidify after the Ohio Medical Marijuana Educational Conference was held at Ohio State University in January 2001. This conference was sponsored by Drug Policy Education of Ohio and funded by the Drug Policy Foundation.

Shortly after that conference, a group of patients, caregivers, and activists from all over Ohio got together on the Internet to discuss strategies to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio. From this meeting, the Ohio Patient Network (OPN) was officially born.