Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
The Georgia Senate passed its version of medical marijuana legislation on Crossover Day with only one dissenting vote, that of Democrat Curt Thompson of Tucker. Senate Bill 185, sponsored by Lindsey Tippins of Marietta, would authorize the University System of Georgia to conduct clinical trials of cannabidiol oil and other methods of medical marijuana delivery, including injection and patches, but not including smoking. The trials would be limited to children suffering from seizures. In many ways, the bill formalizes the program authorized by Governor Nathan Deal in April, 2014 following the failure of last session's medical marijuana bill.
Earlier in the session, the House passed Rep. Allen Peake's HB 1, which would permit the use of CBD oil for the treatment of eight additional diseases beyond childhood seizure disorders. Peake is concerned that the Senate bill doesn't cover many of the conditions CBD oil benefits, and that the immunity language in the bill is not applicable to many of the Georgians who have gone to other states in order to use medical marijuana and want to do so in the Peach State.
The next stop for the House legislation is the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Renee Unterman. The bill will be carried in the Senate by Butch Miller, the governor's floor leader. Unterman's committee is expected to meet on Thursday to consider the House bill, and the senator promises to give it a fair hearing, saying she wants to combine the two bills into one that will pass both chambers.
Senator Unterman has spent her entire career working in healthcare, and along with her husband Marc worked on many clinical trials for new treatments, including stents and balloon angioplasties. Saying that the effectiveness of medical marijuana is largely based on anecdotal evidence, she is strongly in favor of the type of outcome-based clinical trials proposed in the Senate version of the bill.
She admits, though, that because marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug with no medical uses whatsoever, a proper long term fix is a federal issue. And progress is being made on that front, with a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate that would change marijuana's classification from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2, which would acknowledge there is a medical use for the drug.
Senator Thompson, who cast the sole vote against Tippins' bill, says it didn't go far enough to help those who might benefit from medical marijuana. He compares his Senate Bill 7 to Peake's bill, noting that the major difference between the two is that his bill included smokeable marijuana in addition to CBD oil. Thompson's bill was assigned to the Judiciary committee, and did not receive a hearing this session.
When asked about the next steps for House Bill 1, Speaker David Ralston expressed cautious optimism that the Senate would give the bill deference:
I hope that they will sit down and have a discussion with us. I would hope that they would respect the unbelievable amount of hard work that Alan Peake has put in on that bill. He's worked awfully hard, and he has such a passion and such an understanding for what the issue is really about.
For his part, Rep. Peake said he would be happy if the Senate added the clinical trials proposed in Tippins' bill to HB 1.
I am hopeful that our chambers can reach an agreement on this issue and get a bill to the Governor as soon as possible. We must ultimately pass legislation this session that works to bring medical refugees home and offers protection for Georgians. SB 185 excludes thousands of our citizens who suffer from medical conditions beyond epilepsy and could benefit from cannabis oil.
Those hoping to pass a medical marijuana bill during the 2014 session had their hopes dashed when Peake's bill got caught up in a political battle between the House and Senate. Fairly or not, Senator Unterman was blamed for the Senate's refusal to take up Peake's bill. Unterman was a co-sponsor of that session's autism bill and was a vocal advocate for its passage. The House refused to consider the bill, setting up the impasse.
This year, Unterman is the sponsor of SB 3, the Supporting and Strengthening Families Act, which is one of the Senate Republican Caucus's top legislative priorities for this session. Passed by the Senate in February, the bill is currently stalled in the House Judiciary Committee. This year's Senate autism bill, also one of that chamber's top priorities, was voted out in January, and sits in the House Insurance Committee.
Will Rep. Peake's medical marijuana be held hostage for the second session in a row? Only time will tell.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: House Medical Marijuana Bill to be Heard in the Senate on Thursday - Peach Pundit ? Peach Pundit
Author: Jon Richards
Contact: Editors@peachpundit.com
Photo Credit: David Goldman
Website: Peach Pundit ? Georgia Politics
Earlier in the session, the House passed Rep. Allen Peake's HB 1, which would permit the use of CBD oil for the treatment of eight additional diseases beyond childhood seizure disorders. Peake is concerned that the Senate bill doesn't cover many of the conditions CBD oil benefits, and that the immunity language in the bill is not applicable to many of the Georgians who have gone to other states in order to use medical marijuana and want to do so in the Peach State.
The next stop for the House legislation is the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Renee Unterman. The bill will be carried in the Senate by Butch Miller, the governor's floor leader. Unterman's committee is expected to meet on Thursday to consider the House bill, and the senator promises to give it a fair hearing, saying she wants to combine the two bills into one that will pass both chambers.
Senator Unterman has spent her entire career working in healthcare, and along with her husband Marc worked on many clinical trials for new treatments, including stents and balloon angioplasties. Saying that the effectiveness of medical marijuana is largely based on anecdotal evidence, she is strongly in favor of the type of outcome-based clinical trials proposed in the Senate version of the bill.
She admits, though, that because marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug with no medical uses whatsoever, a proper long term fix is a federal issue. And progress is being made on that front, with a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate that would change marijuana's classification from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2, which would acknowledge there is a medical use for the drug.
Senator Thompson, who cast the sole vote against Tippins' bill, says it didn't go far enough to help those who might benefit from medical marijuana. He compares his Senate Bill 7 to Peake's bill, noting that the major difference between the two is that his bill included smokeable marijuana in addition to CBD oil. Thompson's bill was assigned to the Judiciary committee, and did not receive a hearing this session.
When asked about the next steps for House Bill 1, Speaker David Ralston expressed cautious optimism that the Senate would give the bill deference:
I hope that they will sit down and have a discussion with us. I would hope that they would respect the unbelievable amount of hard work that Alan Peake has put in on that bill. He's worked awfully hard, and he has such a passion and such an understanding for what the issue is really about.
For his part, Rep. Peake said he would be happy if the Senate added the clinical trials proposed in Tippins' bill to HB 1.
I am hopeful that our chambers can reach an agreement on this issue and get a bill to the Governor as soon as possible. We must ultimately pass legislation this session that works to bring medical refugees home and offers protection for Georgians. SB 185 excludes thousands of our citizens who suffer from medical conditions beyond epilepsy and could benefit from cannabis oil.
Those hoping to pass a medical marijuana bill during the 2014 session had their hopes dashed when Peake's bill got caught up in a political battle between the House and Senate. Fairly or not, Senator Unterman was blamed for the Senate's refusal to take up Peake's bill. Unterman was a co-sponsor of that session's autism bill and was a vocal advocate for its passage. The House refused to consider the bill, setting up the impasse.
This year, Unterman is the sponsor of SB 3, the Supporting and Strengthening Families Act, which is one of the Senate Republican Caucus's top legislative priorities for this session. Passed by the Senate in February, the bill is currently stalled in the House Judiciary Committee. This year's Senate autism bill, also one of that chamber's top priorities, was voted out in January, and sits in the House Insurance Committee.
Will Rep. Peake's medical marijuana be held hostage for the second session in a row? Only time will tell.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: House Medical Marijuana Bill to be Heard in the Senate on Thursday - Peach Pundit ? Peach Pundit
Author: Jon Richards
Contact: Editors@peachpundit.com
Photo Credit: David Goldman
Website: Peach Pundit ? Georgia Politics
