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The state House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a measure that would allow the limited use of cannabis oil, derived from marijuana, as medical treatment. The oil, proponents said, contains only miniscule amounts of the ingredient from marijuana that provides a high, but is showing promise as treatment for people who suffer severe seizures cause by epilepsy and other disorders. If signed into law, the bill would closely restrict its use to those with a doctor's prescription and it would be dispensed only at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
"This, CBD oil, does not contain THC, does not give ... any of the effects of THC," said House Judiciary Chairman Mark Baker, R-Brandon. He read lawmakers a letter from parents whose child suffers severe, life threatening seizures and as a side effect of other drugs has trouble even swallowing. "I don't want to get my 10-year-old child high," Baker said, quoting the mother from the letter. "I want to lessen the effects of seizures on his fragile body." Rep. Mark Formby, R-Picayune, told his colleagues his young son "had three seizures this morning — it's not yet even noon." Formby, a conservative lawmaker who has pushed for tougher laws and penalties for illegal drug use, said he supported the bill.
The House approved HB1231 on a vote of 112-6. It appears likely to be headed to the governor, but was held on a motion that could allow more debate. The bill made some changes in the state's controlled substance laws to more closely conform to the classifications federal government uses for illegal and controlled drugs. But the bill had been amended to included the cannabis oil measure, which had been pushed by Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood. Harkins' original bill had died without a floor vote in the House. Some lawmakers had been concerned the cannabis oil measure would be a step towards legalized medicinal or recreational marijuana, although no lawmakers made that argument in the House on Thursday.
Harkins, at a hearing earlier in the legislative session, had parents testify to lawmakers about their child's life threatening seizures and how other drugs had either failed or caused severe side effects. Alabama recently passed a similar measure allowing medical use of CBD oil. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has in the past voiced concerns over legalizing medical marijuana. On Thursday his spokeswoman Nicole Webb would say only "The governor will review it closely when it reaches his desk."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Clarionledger.com
Author: Geoff Pender
"This, CBD oil, does not contain THC, does not give ... any of the effects of THC," said House Judiciary Chairman Mark Baker, R-Brandon. He read lawmakers a letter from parents whose child suffers severe, life threatening seizures and as a side effect of other drugs has trouble even swallowing. "I don't want to get my 10-year-old child high," Baker said, quoting the mother from the letter. "I want to lessen the effects of seizures on his fragile body." Rep. Mark Formby, R-Picayune, told his colleagues his young son "had three seizures this morning — it's not yet even noon." Formby, a conservative lawmaker who has pushed for tougher laws and penalties for illegal drug use, said he supported the bill.
The House approved HB1231 on a vote of 112-6. It appears likely to be headed to the governor, but was held on a motion that could allow more debate. The bill made some changes in the state's controlled substance laws to more closely conform to the classifications federal government uses for illegal and controlled drugs. But the bill had been amended to included the cannabis oil measure, which had been pushed by Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood. Harkins' original bill had died without a floor vote in the House. Some lawmakers had been concerned the cannabis oil measure would be a step towards legalized medicinal or recreational marijuana, although no lawmakers made that argument in the House on Thursday.
Harkins, at a hearing earlier in the legislative session, had parents testify to lawmakers about their child's life threatening seizures and how other drugs had either failed or caused severe side effects. Alabama recently passed a similar measure allowing medical use of CBD oil. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has in the past voiced concerns over legalizing medical marijuana. On Thursday his spokeswoman Nicole Webb would say only "The governor will review it closely when it reaches his desk."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Clarionledger.com
Author: Geoff Pender
