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Georgia - Three-month-old Kason Jiles of Lithia Springs has spent two-thirds of his short life at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Kason has a Ohtahara syndrome, a neurological disease characterized by seizures that can number from 10 to 75 a day, his father Jonathan Jiles said. The disease is severely progressive, with some who have it dying in infancy and others surviving with profound handicaps, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
But Jonathan Jiles is hoping a bill introduced in the state House by Rep. Allen Peake (R-Macon) on Tuesday that would allow limited access to medical marijuana will improve his son's quality of life if it passes. Jiles said the cannabis oil that would be allowed in the law can stop the seizures his infant son has and certainly reduce them. "It's possible that this could completely stop everything and he could go through school just like the other kids and graduate and all of that," Jiles said. "He could still have 100 issues. The way it's set up I believe that we can keep a real tight rein on recreational usage while at the same time being able to help an array of different patients."
Rep. Micah Gravley (R-Douglasville) was the only freshman lawmaker to be among the first five co-sponsors, also known at the Capitol as a "front-page signer." The bill, known as "Haleigh's Hope Act," has over over 80 co-sponsors total. Haleigh's Hope Act would revive a long-dormant research program allowing academic institutions to distribute medical marijuana to those suffering from specific medical conditions. Haleigh Cox is a young girl who suffers from a medical condition that causes severe seizures, and Peake was spurred to draft the bill after meeting with her and her parents.
Gravley has met with the Jiles family as well as many others in his district, which encompasses parts of Douglas and Paulding counties. And like Peake, who serves as the secretary/treasurer of the Majority House Caucus, Gravley has been moved by the results he's seen from the cannabis oil from seizure patients that have used it in states where it is legal. Gravley said Tuesday at the Capitol was "surreal" as he sat in a room with Peake and penned his name to the bill. He said he quoted Esther 4:14 from the Bible: "...for such a time as this, for such a time as this."
"I know this bill, if passed, will help the kids of Georgia and specifically it will help kids in the two counties that I represent," said Gravley. When the bill was publicly introduced Tuesday, Peake was joined by parents of many of the children the cannabis oil would help. Jiles said he intended to be at the Capitol for the ceremony, but couldn't get there because of the inclement weather. A state law passed in 1980 established the academic research program allowing for the limited use of medical marijuana for those diagnosed with glaucoma and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, but the program ceased soon after when the federal government stopped delivery of legal cannabis, according to a legislative research memo.
The proposed bill would add seizures to the list of medical conditions allowed in the program, and Peake said the cannabis oil being distributed would be "limited in scope, tightly restricted, well regulated and managed by doctors." The drug would be administered orally in a liquid form, and Peake was adamant that it would not open the door to widespread, recreational use of marijuana in the state. "I am concerned as anyone that we would get to a slippery slope of a broader scope of marijuana use in the state," Peake said. "I promise you I will fight that with every bit of energy in me. I promise you, this is not legalized marijuana for recreational use. We are not going down that path." Peake said he has received the support of the Medical Association of Georgia, the largest group of physicians in the state, and does not expect to see opposition from law enforcement groups. Twenty states provide some form of access to medical marijuana, Peake said.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Douglascountysentinel.com
Author: Ron Daniel
Contact: Contact Us - Douglas County Sentinel: Site
Website: Local family could be helped by medical marijuana bill - Douglas County Sentinel: Local News
But Jonathan Jiles is hoping a bill introduced in the state House by Rep. Allen Peake (R-Macon) on Tuesday that would allow limited access to medical marijuana will improve his son's quality of life if it passes. Jiles said the cannabis oil that would be allowed in the law can stop the seizures his infant son has and certainly reduce them. "It's possible that this could completely stop everything and he could go through school just like the other kids and graduate and all of that," Jiles said. "He could still have 100 issues. The way it's set up I believe that we can keep a real tight rein on recreational usage while at the same time being able to help an array of different patients."
Rep. Micah Gravley (R-Douglasville) was the only freshman lawmaker to be among the first five co-sponsors, also known at the Capitol as a "front-page signer." The bill, known as "Haleigh's Hope Act," has over over 80 co-sponsors total. Haleigh's Hope Act would revive a long-dormant research program allowing academic institutions to distribute medical marijuana to those suffering from specific medical conditions. Haleigh Cox is a young girl who suffers from a medical condition that causes severe seizures, and Peake was spurred to draft the bill after meeting with her and her parents.
Gravley has met with the Jiles family as well as many others in his district, which encompasses parts of Douglas and Paulding counties. And like Peake, who serves as the secretary/treasurer of the Majority House Caucus, Gravley has been moved by the results he's seen from the cannabis oil from seizure patients that have used it in states where it is legal. Gravley said Tuesday at the Capitol was "surreal" as he sat in a room with Peake and penned his name to the bill. He said he quoted Esther 4:14 from the Bible: "...for such a time as this, for such a time as this."
"I know this bill, if passed, will help the kids of Georgia and specifically it will help kids in the two counties that I represent," said Gravley. When the bill was publicly introduced Tuesday, Peake was joined by parents of many of the children the cannabis oil would help. Jiles said he intended to be at the Capitol for the ceremony, but couldn't get there because of the inclement weather. A state law passed in 1980 established the academic research program allowing for the limited use of medical marijuana for those diagnosed with glaucoma and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, but the program ceased soon after when the federal government stopped delivery of legal cannabis, according to a legislative research memo.
The proposed bill would add seizures to the list of medical conditions allowed in the program, and Peake said the cannabis oil being distributed would be "limited in scope, tightly restricted, well regulated and managed by doctors." The drug would be administered orally in a liquid form, and Peake was adamant that it would not open the door to widespread, recreational use of marijuana in the state. "I am concerned as anyone that we would get to a slippery slope of a broader scope of marijuana use in the state," Peake said. "I promise you I will fight that with every bit of energy in me. I promise you, this is not legalized marijuana for recreational use. We are not going down that path." Peake said he has received the support of the Medical Association of Georgia, the largest group of physicians in the state, and does not expect to see opposition from law enforcement groups. Twenty states provide some form of access to medical marijuana, Peake said.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Douglascountysentinel.com
Author: Ron Daniel
Contact: Contact Us - Douglas County Sentinel: Site
Website: Local family could be helped by medical marijuana bill - Douglas County Sentinel: Local News
