Pubdate: Mon, 10 Feb 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Christina A. Cassidy, The Associated Press

SUPPORT RISES IN DEEP SOUTH

Lawmakers Throw Weight Behind Bills to Allow Cannabis Oil.

Atlanta (AP) - Medical marijuana has been a non-starter in recent 
years in the Deep South, where many Republican lawmakers feared it 
could lead to widespread drug use and social ills. That now appears 
to be changing, with proposals to allow a form of medical marijuana 
gaining momentum in a handful of Southern states.

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical 
marijuana. This year, powerful GOP lawmakers in Georgia and Alabama 
are putting their weight behind bills that would allow for the 
limited use of cannabis oil by those with specific medical 
conditions. Other Southern states are also weighing the issue with 
varying levels of support.

The key to swaying the hearts of conservative lawmakers has been the 
stories of children suffering up to 100 seizures a day whose parents 
say they could benefit from access to cannabidiol, which would be 
administered orally in a liquid form.

Proponents argue the cannabis oil is low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or 
THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana that makes users feel high.

"I'm an unlikely champion for this cause," said Georgia Rep. Allen 
Peake, a businessman from Macon who attended the evangelical Dallas 
Theological Seminary. "Once people realize it's not a 6 year-old 
smoking a joint, most folks realize this is the compassionate thing to do."

Peake's bill has earned the backing of more than 80 state lawmakers, 
including several members of the House Republican leadership who 
signed on as co-sponsors, and the state's largest professional 
association of doctors.

The bill would revive a long dormant research program allowing 
academic institutions to distribute the medical cannabis and would be 
"limited in scope, tightly restricted, well-regulated and managed by 
doctors," Peake said.

Alabama Rep. Mike Ball, a retired hostage negotiator for the State 
Patrol, is behind a bill that would allow people to possess the 
cannabis oil if they have certain medical conditions. It passed a key 
committee vote Wednesday.

"The public is starting to understand what this is," said Ball.

The bills in Georgia and Alabama have more vetting, and their 
ultimate prospects are not certain. But what is happening offers a 
strong signal of what's to come in other states.

In Louisiana, although a bill has yet to be introduced, a recent 
committee hearing at the Capitol on legalizing medical marijuana drew 
a standing-room-only crowd, and Gov. Bobby Jindal made comments last 
month indicating he was willing to consider it.

"When it comes to medical marijuana ... if there is a legitimate 
medical need, I'd certainly be open to making it available under very 
strict supervision for patients that would benefit from that," Jindal 
said, according to a report in The Advocate.

In Mississippi, Republican state Sen. Josh Harkins of Brandon is 
sponsoring a cannabis oil bill similar to the ones in Alabama and 
Georgia. Harkins said one of his constituents has a 20-month-old 
daughter with Dravet syndrome, a form of pediatric epilepsy, and the 
oil can help reduce the number of seizures.

Elsewhere, both Kentucky and Tennessee have medical marijuana bills 
under consideration.

In Florida, it's likely to become a campaign issue in the fall given 
that Gov. Rick Scott is up for reelection and a proposed 
constitutional amendment will be on the ballot that would allow for 
the medical use of marijuana as determined by a licensed physician.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom