Pubdate: Tue, 01 Apr 2014
Source: Red and Black, The (U of Georgia, GA Edu)
Copyright: 2014 The Red and Black Publishing Co., Inc.
Contact:  http://www.redandblack.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2800
Author: Sam Woo
Note: Sam Woo is a freshman from Marietta majoring in business
administration and international affairs

DEATH OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL LEAVES GEORGIANS SUFFERING

On March 20, sick children, desperate parents and passionate advocates
left the state Capitol disappointed. They received the unfortunate
news that House Bill 885, more commonly known as the medicinal
marijuana bill, failed to pass in the Senate because of a lack of
compromise between the House and the Senate.

HB 885 would have allowed patients suffering from glaucoma, cancer and
seizures to have access to potentially life-saving forms of medicinal
marijuana. If passed, the bill could have provided thousands with the
medication that they need in order to live a life free of seizures,
free of pain and free of suffering. Unfortunately for these
individuals, Sen. Renee Unterman destined HB 885 for failure because
of her own political agenda.

By attaching Senate Bill 397 to the medicinal marijuana bill in a last
ditch effort to push both through, Unterman crushed any hope of
providing medical attention to children suffering from
life-threatening epileptic seizures.

"She had an agenda important to her, but it needed to stand alone. She
didn't need to hijack another bill to push her piece of legislation",
said Rep. Allen Peake, the primary sponsor of HB 885. "I understand
there is value in that piece of legislation, but the bottom line is
that they didn't need to be attached. If 885 stayed by itself, it
would've passed."

HB 885 passed through the House with overwhelming support, but once SB
397 was attached, its former supporters had serious reservations.
Lawmakers adjourned at midnight without ever reaching a compromise
about the fate of HB 885.

"[The legislative process] gets very political, and it is an election
year unfortunately," Rep. Margaret Kaiser said. "We fully thought HB
885 would pass, but it looks like it did not because politics were in
play."

Many argue that Kaiser and Peake are merely speculating about the
Unterman's reasoning behind her controversial decision; however,
Unterman has admitted that she held HB 885 hostage in attempt to pass
her own unsuccessful bill.

In an interview with WSBTV, Unterman ironically confirmed her own
statement.

"These parents don't understand how the General Assembly works but
this building is nothing but politics", Unterman said.

Instead of labeling desperate parents as ignorant, it may have been
more useful to listen and aid the families in need. After all, isn't
it a state Senator's job to ensure that everything is done to ensure
that useful legislative bills are passed?

It is important to point out that the issues addressed in SB 397 are
equally as important as those addressed in HB 885. SB 397 would have
reformed medical treatment for autistic children in Georgia, but
attaching the bill to the medical marijuana bill only ensured the
failure of both bills.

Now that both bills failed to be passed, it seems that precious time
and money were wasted during this year's General Assembly. The
2013-2014 Session was a complete failure for autism and medicinal
marijuana reform. No one, including Unterman, gained from the
political gridlock that got in the way of important reform.
Jeopardizing the well-being of thousands of Georgians in order to set
one's own political agenda is simply incomprehensible.

For the families that fought so hard to support autism and medical
marijuana reform, there is nothing we can do. It seems like the
government failed to listen to its constituents and provide the
necessary reform to ensure that all of its citizens can enjoy the high
quality of life that they deserve. For these individuals, justice was
not served.

- -Sam Woo is a freshman from Marietta majoring in business
administration and international affairs  
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D