News from the Hill…
The following excerpt is taken from the Des Moines Register on April 24, 2014.
The Iowa Legislature moved Wednesday toward decriminalizing oil derived from marijuana for the treatment of severe epilepsy, with lawmakers casting on-the-record votes supporting a proposal many believed had no chance of passage this year.
After weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations and bill drafting, legislation was introduced in the Senate and advanced through a key committee on Wednesday – positioning it for floor debate as early as Thursday.
Senate Study Bill 3222 creates a licensing system for patients with “intractable” epilepsy and their caregivers to pursue treatment with cannabidiol, an oil derived from marijuana that has been shown to reduce seizures and improve other symptoms related to the illness.
Under the bill, patients or their caregivers who receive a neurologist’s recommendation for cannabidiol would be able to apply for a state-issued identification card allowing them to possess and use the oil without fear of prosecution under state marijuana laws.
The substance is not smokeable and contains low amounts of THC, the substance that gets users high.
Many procedural steps remain before the bill becomes law, but the actions taken Wednesday signal bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, and the underscore the success of months of lobbying and weeks of intensive legislative negotiation.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-politics/2014/04/23/medical-marijuana-iowa-legislature/8060777/
The link to the entire story is above if you have an interest in reading the entire story.
Never a dull Moment…
I have always been against legalizing Medical Marijuana, largely because people’s idea of what constitutes medical reasons can vary greatly. But this bill, SSB 3222 is substantially different. This procedure is extracting the oil from the plant for specific medical reasons and you cannot get high from the oil. The bill is very narrow in what it can be used for and by who. Some believe the bill is too restrictive, I disagree. While I have always been against the legalization of Marijuana, using the oil for medical reasons makes some sense. I think what finally convinced me is when I was visiting with a Mother and Grandmother, who I have known for many years, of a little girl who experiences many seizures a day. I witnessed the pain, exhaustion and yet a ray of some medical hope for the little girl with this oil. There are many questions and I think we need to move slowly as a state. Will there be long term side effects with the use of this oil? Is the bill well enough defined that it cannot be abused by someone in the future? However, we also have some facts such as; the drugs that are presently legal and we all seem to be OK with their use are destroying the brains of these children. In fact there are several legalized drugs that have very severe side effects and are doing long term damage with their legalized use. Is passing this bill giving parents of these children a sense of false hope? I am not sure, but doing nothing is not giving them any hope of medical treatment at all.
I always like to know your thoughts on this subject. However, I would first ask you to read some of the facts on what the bill does and does not do.
“We are never defeated unless we give up on God.” – Ronald Reagan
For more information on these and other bills: www.legis.iowa.gov
Until next time,
Tom Sands