News from the Hill…
There has been lots of progress this week, with several long nights of debate. Monday and Tuesday night went right up to the midnight hour. That makes very long days and wears on the body, mind and soul. Not a good mixture for making decisions. By the end of this week all of the budgets will have passed both chambers. This is a good sign as only a few will be going to conference committee. People are extremely optimistic in adjourning sine die by mid to late week. This would be the first time in six years that we would be done before May 1.
Medical Marijuana…
People have a wide range in beliefs in uses and benefits for Medical Marijuana and/or Medical Cannabidiol. The range goes from full blown legalization like Colorado to no legalization at all. In 2014 the State of Iowa decriminalized the possession of cannabidiol oil for very limited uses; however it is still a Federal Crime. This unfortunately started the process to more expansive uses down the road. Just two years later supporters are back and trying to expand Iowa’s current law. The Iowa Legislature does not approve drugs, the FDA does. This process while not perfect has served this country well and consumer safety is extremely important.
There are unintended consequences of legislating the manufacturing of “someone’s” idea of the proper amount of CBD and THC for medicine. The current Iowa Cannabidiol Act may be allowing for too much THC already and in time, may have more negative consequences for these children. Most likely, by next year, the CBD Oil, Epidiolex, being studied by Dr. Joshi at the University of Iowa and at 50 other sites across the nation, will be available at our local pharmacies across the nation legally. Epidiolex has little to no THC. But the most important part is that it has went through the double blind clinical studies to ensure it will do more good than harm. It will be what they call, pharmaceutical grade.
If we, the State Legislature, open this can of worms and start manufacturing, we won’t have what we start with for long. What we have has not been studied as all other legal medicines in Iowa have been. Soon after, there will be financial and emotional pressure to add more THC for more and more conditions.
There are pharmaceutical grade drugs being studied in the normal process with more THC, like Sativex for MS Spasticity is in Phase II of double blind clinical trials right now. It did no better than the placebo in Phase III trials for Cancer pain so they sent it back to be studied for MS. This is the important lesson here. These decisions need to be made by the best researchers in the country. Not state legislators. Even the stricter “medical” programs that have started in some states recently are getting more and more pressure to expand and a lot of the pressure is coming from those who want to make money and those who think marijuana is the cure for everything. All of this is at the expense of the young people who become addicted, lose IQ points, acquire major mental health problems, and experience more adverse consequences of using THC. Let’s don’t lose what is good in Iowa when it is so unnecessary. The connection is very clear to those in substance abuse treatment and prevention. If more people had this information, they would think twice about starting what seems harmless and only helpful right now.
“Important principles may, and must be inflexible” – Abraham Lincoln
For more information on these and other bills: www.legis.iowa.gov
Until next time,
Tom Sands