Pubdate: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 Source: Anniston Star (AL) Copyright: 2014 Consolidated Publishing Contact: http://www.annistonstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/923 Author: Tim Lockette STATE SENATE OKS MARIJUANA OIL STUDY MONTGOMERY - The Alabama Senate voted 34- 0 Tuesday in favor of a medical study that would allow some people with epilepsy to have access to a cannabis-derived medicine. Despite the unanimous vote, the Legislature doesn't appear likely to approve the use of other forms of medical marijuana any time soon. "The regular kind, with the THC, I am not in support of," said Sen. Paul Sanford, R- Huntsville. Sanford is the sponsor of a bill called "Carly's Law" which would set up a five-year study, through the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in which the university would treat some patients who have severe epileptic seizures with cannabidiol, an oil derived from marijuana plants. The oil doesn't have the psychoactive effects people associate with marijuana, Sanford said. Sanford's bill doesn't define how many people would be involved in the study, nor does it specify what UAB will study, beyond determining "medical uses and benefits of cannabidiol." But the existence of the study - which will have UAB as the only distributor of the drug, and only for study purposes - allowed Sanford to build support for the bill among legislators who are reluctant to show an ounce of support for pot legalization. The bill is named for Carly Chandler, a 3- year-old with epilepsy whose parents have campaigned for legalization of cannabidiol. "God is good," said Dustin Chandler, Carly's father. "If it wasn't for Him, I don't believe we would have gone so far so fast." The original draft of Sanford's bill made cannabidiol legal for people under treatment for certain conditions, but that draft met with opposition in Senate committee. Sanford and other lawmakers announced UAB's involvement in a press conference Tuesday. In a statement distributed at the press conference, UAB Department of Neurology chairman David Standaert said UAB will "undertake research into the mechanisms underlying cannabidiol to learn more about its ... effect on seizures." By Tuesday afternoon, former critics of the bill were lining up on the Senate floor to praise it. "You've addressed each and every one of our concerns," said Sen. Bryan Taylor. R- Prattville, who'd opposed the bill in committee. Taylor said that after meeting with families of epilepsy patients, he would vote for the bill and "( couldn't) imagine doing anything different." The bill would set aside $ 1 million in the state's education budget to pay for the study in 2015. That would require $ 1 million in cuts elsewhere, and Sanford said he didn't know where those cuts would be made. The Senate has already approved an education budget, and the House version of the budget will be debated in committee Wednesday morning. Alabama lawmakers have repeatedly said no to efforts to legalize other forms of marijuana for medical uses. Advocates say marijuana is useful in treating Parkinson's disease, glaucoma and the nausea associated with chemotherapy. Rep. K. L. Brown, R- Jacksonville, has introduced medical marijuana bills, inspired by the memory of his late sister, who used the drug while being treated for breast cancer. Brown said it will take a series of "small steps" before Alabama lawmakers are ready to legalize medical marijuana. He said the cannabis oil bill could be one of those steps. "It would be a blessing to be able to pass the bill and help that little girl," he said. "People need to realize that there are other people in the state who are hurting, too." Lawmakers were careful to distance themselves from legalization on the Senate floor Tuesday. "We're not legalizing marijuana, we're not legalizing drugs, though I know political spinmasters will take some of those shots," said Sen. Roger Bedford, D- Russelville. In Tuesday morning press conference, Rep. Allen Farley, R- McCalla, did bring up the term, asking "who in their wildest imagination would have thought a veteran assistant sheriff... would be called on to bring about a bill that would have anything to do with marijuana." Farley, a former law enforcement officer, is one of the sponsors of the bill in the House. Sanford said the bill would likely hit the House next week. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom