Medical Marijuana Bill Gets Second Read in State House
A new piece of proposed legislation is gaining more and more support at the state’s capital.
House Bill 885 is a medical cannabis bill, also being called Hailey’s Law.
“The proposed legislation will be narrowly drafted to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis oil, a marijuana derivative, to treat seizure disorders in children,” said Rep Alan Powell of 32nd District in last week’s Legislative Update.
He said the proposal is supported by the Medical Association of Georgia and has received generally positive response from the public about the medical uses of marijuana to effectively treat patients with certain illnesses.
Under the measure, the marijuana oil, known as Charlotte’s Web, is taken orally in an oil based form and is not smoked.
In the only published study on the treatment, significant seizure reductions have been seen in many patients.
But State Representative Tom McCall of the 33rd District advises people to not to get too worked up about it.
“When the good Lord made this world, he didn’t leave anything out to fix anything, we just aren’t smart enough right now to figure it all out yet, and if this is one step in that direction, then so be it”, expressed McCall. “Anybody that would argue the fact that this is wrong has never held their child as they were seizing with nothing you could do but let them seize, and if this will stop that kind of stuff then we need to do it.”
The measure includes tight restrictions and regulations for physician management and is limited in scope to individuals with seizure disorders.
McCall says if the passing of this legislation is a step closer to preventing seizures in children, then this is something that has to be done.
McCall said he does not know how the potential approval of this piece of legislation will translate to an expanded use of medicinal marijuana in Georgia.
The bill had it second read on Monday. McCall said he was very confident that the legislation will be approved by the House.