Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A state Senate panel on Thursday night approved rules for clinical trials and limited possession of medical marijuana in Georgia, and legislators plan a hearing on a wider bill.
By a unanimous voice vote, Senate Bill 185 passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
The purpose of the clinical part of the bill, said state Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta, is to design a legal path to medical cannabis for children under the age of 21 who have medicine-resistant epilepsy.
Cannabis and all its products are illegal under federal law, except for limited trials of potential medicines. Despite that, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, nearly half the states have passed workable medical marijuana programs.
But Tippins, the bill's sponsor, does not want to encourage Georgians to break federal law or give children substances that are not tested or regulated for safety and purity.
Clinical testing is already underway in Georgia, kicked off last year with an executive order by Gov. Nathan Deal.
The bill also would decriminalize possession of a liquid medicine made from cannabis for the treatment of pediatric epilepsy, if it has less than 0.3 percent THC, the chemical that causes marijuana users to get high. The legalized liquid would be rich in CBD, or cannabidiol, a compound that some people report relieves inflammation and seizures.
In defense of a cap on THC, "the main thing I'm concerned about is the black market" and turning an alleged medicine into a recreational drug, said state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, chairwoman of the committee.
But an additional medical marijuana bill is on her committee's agenda: House Bill 1 by state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon.
His bill would decriminalize possession of CBD-rich oil in wider circumstances. The liquid must contain less than 5 percent THC, and it must be obtained legally in a medical marijuana state for one of nine diagnoses.
Peake is pushing for up to 5 percent THC because that amount has proven beneficial to most of the Georgia patients he knows who have gone to Colorado for medical marijuana treatments.
The House of Representatives already overwhelmingly approved Peake's bill. Unterman said she will hold a committee hearing on it, tentatively on March 19.
More than 50 people attended a pro-access bill on Thursday, hours ahead of the Senate committee hearing, urging the Senate to pass Peake's bill as-is. They argued that the Senate bill excludes too many Georgians who want to see if medical marijuana could bring them relief.
"We have some beautiful children here today but HB 1 is not just about kids. ... Cancer patients, adults with epilepsy, they are the face of HB 1, too," Peake told the rally.
Besides cancer and epilepsy, Peake's bill also covers Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, mitochondrial disease, fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease and sickle cell disease.
"My daughter Katie has fibromyalgia, and she is too weak to sit in a wheelchair," said Macon dad Lindsey Crosby, pointing at his daughter Katie's empty wheelchair. He brought it from Macon while she rested at home.
"She is 26, cannot drive and she cannot work and is forced to live with her parents," Crosby said.
It was different a few months ago, when Katie's mother took her to Colorado to try cannabis oil there.
"For the first time in months she was pain-free," Crosby said. She was able to walk and do normal day-to-day things.
Crosby urged the Senate to pass Georgia access to CBD oil with up to 5 percent THC because his daughter would not be eligible for any bill that applies just to children or epilepsy. He also said she needs more than 0.3 percent THC.
"Suffering does not discriminate by either gender, age or color," he said.
Lillie Ann Thomas, of Stone Mountain, asked people to imagine falling down the marble state Capitol stairs and breaking both legs.
"This is the pain sickle cell patients like my daughter experience every day," Thomas said at the rally. She wants her adult daughter to be able to try cannabis-based medicine for pain relief.
Peake said he is hopeful the Senate "will see and hear the voices of these citizens today and make the right decision to help as many citizens as we can, which HB 1 does."
Unterman said she envisions blending the House and Senate bills. Peake said the two need not be mutually exclusive.
Senate Bill 185 now needs Rules Committee approval for a full floor vote.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Georgia Senate, House medical marijuana bills at odds | State Legislature | Macon.com
Author: Maggie Lee
Contact: mlee@macon.com
Photo Credit: Brennan Linsley
Website: News, sports and weather for Macon and Warner Robins, GA| The Telegraph & macon.com
By a unanimous voice vote, Senate Bill 185 passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
The purpose of the clinical part of the bill, said state Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta, is to design a legal path to medical cannabis for children under the age of 21 who have medicine-resistant epilepsy.
Cannabis and all its products are illegal under federal law, except for limited trials of potential medicines. Despite that, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, nearly half the states have passed workable medical marijuana programs.
But Tippins, the bill's sponsor, does not want to encourage Georgians to break federal law or give children substances that are not tested or regulated for safety and purity.
Clinical testing is already underway in Georgia, kicked off last year with an executive order by Gov. Nathan Deal.
The bill also would decriminalize possession of a liquid medicine made from cannabis for the treatment of pediatric epilepsy, if it has less than 0.3 percent THC, the chemical that causes marijuana users to get high. The legalized liquid would be rich in CBD, or cannabidiol, a compound that some people report relieves inflammation and seizures.
In defense of a cap on THC, "the main thing I'm concerned about is the black market" and turning an alleged medicine into a recreational drug, said state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, chairwoman of the committee.
But an additional medical marijuana bill is on her committee's agenda: House Bill 1 by state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon.
His bill would decriminalize possession of CBD-rich oil in wider circumstances. The liquid must contain less than 5 percent THC, and it must be obtained legally in a medical marijuana state for one of nine diagnoses.
Peake is pushing for up to 5 percent THC because that amount has proven beneficial to most of the Georgia patients he knows who have gone to Colorado for medical marijuana treatments.
The House of Representatives already overwhelmingly approved Peake's bill. Unterman said she will hold a committee hearing on it, tentatively on March 19.
More than 50 people attended a pro-access bill on Thursday, hours ahead of the Senate committee hearing, urging the Senate to pass Peake's bill as-is. They argued that the Senate bill excludes too many Georgians who want to see if medical marijuana could bring them relief.
"We have some beautiful children here today but HB 1 is not just about kids. ... Cancer patients, adults with epilepsy, they are the face of HB 1, too," Peake told the rally.
Besides cancer and epilepsy, Peake's bill also covers Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, mitochondrial disease, fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease and sickle cell disease.
"My daughter Katie has fibromyalgia, and she is too weak to sit in a wheelchair," said Macon dad Lindsey Crosby, pointing at his daughter Katie's empty wheelchair. He brought it from Macon while she rested at home.
"She is 26, cannot drive and she cannot work and is forced to live with her parents," Crosby said.
It was different a few months ago, when Katie's mother took her to Colorado to try cannabis oil there.
"For the first time in months she was pain-free," Crosby said. She was able to walk and do normal day-to-day things.
Crosby urged the Senate to pass Georgia access to CBD oil with up to 5 percent THC because his daughter would not be eligible for any bill that applies just to children or epilepsy. He also said she needs more than 0.3 percent THC.
"Suffering does not discriminate by either gender, age or color," he said.
Lillie Ann Thomas, of Stone Mountain, asked people to imagine falling down the marble state Capitol stairs and breaking both legs.
"This is the pain sickle cell patients like my daughter experience every day," Thomas said at the rally. She wants her adult daughter to be able to try cannabis-based medicine for pain relief.
Peake said he is hopeful the Senate "will see and hear the voices of these citizens today and make the right decision to help as many citizens as we can, which HB 1 does."
Unterman said she envisions blending the House and Senate bills. Peake said the two need not be mutually exclusive.
Senate Bill 185 now needs Rules Committee approval for a full floor vote.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Georgia Senate, House medical marijuana bills at odds | State Legislature | Macon.com
Author: Maggie Lee
Contact: mlee@macon.com
Photo Credit: Brennan Linsley
Website: News, sports and weather for Macon and Warner Robins, GA| The Telegraph & macon.com
