Pubdate: Thu, 27 Feb 2014
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN)
Copyright: 2014 Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.timesfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/992
Author: Christina A. Cassidy, The Associated Press
Page: B1

MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL PASSES KEY VOTE

ATLANTA (AP) - A bill to allow a type of medical marijuana in Georgia
under certain circumstances passed a key committee vote Wednesday,
keeping it alive as a major legislative deadline looms.

Sponsored by Republican Rep. Allen Peake, of Macon, House Bill 885
would revive a long-dormant research program allowing academic
institutions to distribute marijuana to patients suffering from
specific medical conditions.

The House Health and Human Services Committee passed the bill by a
voice vote during Wednesday's meeting, prompting hugs and tears from
families in the audience whose children suffer from medical conditions
that can cause multiple daily seizures. The families believe, based on
anecdotal evidence seen elsewhere, that a form of cannabis oil could
reduce the seizures and improve their children's quality of life and
have been lobbying lawmakers to support the effort.

The bill still has to be placed on the House calendar for a floor
vote, which must happen Monday or it would no longer be active for
this year's legislative session.

Peake presented a revised bill at the committee, saying he needed to
address the fact that federal guidelines currently prohibit
transporting cannabis across state lines. The bill would now permit
approved academic medical centers in the state to grow, process and
distribute medical cannabis, although significant challenges remain,
including the potential loss of federal funding if an academic
institution elects to participate in research involving a drug not
approved by the Federal Drug Administration.

"I am an optimist, and I do believe that as states like Georgia lead
the way it will put some pressure on the federal level to make some
changes," Peake told the committee. "And it would be prudent for us to
be ready for when those changes happen."

The drug would be administered orally in a liquid form, and Peake has
been adamant it would not open the door to recreational use of
marijuana in the state.

Some committee members raised concerns the bill would provide false
hope to families, although it ultimately passed without opposition.

"I know your intentions are the best in the world," state Rep. Sharon
Cooper, R- Marietta, told Peake. "But I am having a problem with
raising parents' expectations that we are going to get them something
very quickly when it looks like we may not have the ability to do
that. As long as you are honest about it, that it may not come quickly."

The bill defines the academic medical centers as a research hospital
that operates a doctor residency program and conducts research,
including medical schools within the state that conduct clinical
research. Peake said those would include such universities as Georgia
Regents, Emory and Mercer.

"We need to do a little more research and that's why this is just the
second step in the journey," Peake told reporters after the hearing.
"If we need to do some tweaking we will do that."

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical
marijuana. The Georgia bill has quickly gained momentum considering it
was not even an issue on the legislative agenda heading into the
session. When Peake introduced the bill late last month, more than 80
lawmakers signed on as sponsors.
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