Earlier this week, the Georgia House Health and Human Services
Committee unanimously supported a bill allowing the use of CBD
cannabis oil for children suffering from debilitating health
conditions. The bill still has to pass the full House vote and then
be approved by the Senate, but Rep. Allen Peake (R-Macon) is
hopeful. From
GPB News:
[Peake] told lawmakers, “The heart and intent is to find the
best way for families in Georgia, in conjunction with their
physicians, to get access [to the treatment.]”The bill would authorize the Georgia Composite Medical Board to
oversee the use of marijuana derivatives in a nonsmoking delivery
system, such as an oil or pill form, for treatment of patients
within an academic medical center research setting, under the
direction of a physician.The only conditions approved for treatment would be seizure
disorders, glaucoma, and nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy
and radiation.
The Marijuana Policy Project says that the bill is
too restrictive, and that they “already know from similar
programs in other states that this will be unworkable.”
Reason TV recently released a video detailing one mother’s
battle to provide CBD for her child. The video, “Docs Afraid to
Prescribe Life-Saving Medical Pot, Even Though It Won’t Get
Patients High,” originally aired on Feb 25, 2014 and
the original text is below:
Three-year-old Dahlia Barnhart was diagnosed with an
aggressive form of brain cancer last June. Her mother, Moriah
Barnhart, immersed herself in research and sought out any treatment
that could improve Dahlia’s condition.
“We were pretty much confronted early on with the fact that this
was the worst case scenario,” says Barnhart.
Barnhart’s research led her to CBD extract, a major component of
the cannabis plant. Unlike more commonly known THC, CBD doesn’t get
patients high. Barnhart says CBD has been extremely effective for
Dahlia.
“The first night she took it, she slept through the night for the
first time in her entire almost three years of life. She very
quickly started to get her appetite back, she was thirsty,” says
Barnhart.
Many patients swear by CBD as a treatment for a variety of cancers
and other serious conditions like epilepsy. Yet despite the fact
that it’s not psychoactive, doctors won’t prescribe it for their
patients.
“I was really shocked. To be completely honest, I discussed diets,
supplements, and the only thing that could not be discussed was
cannabis extract.”
The murky waters surrounding federal prohibition have had a
chilling effect on the medical community, and even though CBD may
be a viable option for many patients, doctors won’t prescribe it
for fear of losing their licenses. Prohibition has also made
researching and accessing CBD a difficult task. This is because CBD
has been “strained out” over the years as CBD counteracts the
psychoactive effects of THC.The Ludwig von Mises Institute’s Mark
Thornton says that prohibition can help explain these
dimished levels of CBD.
“The war on drugs increases the risk and the penalties of being
caught and therefore suppliers have a tendency–a strong desire–to
bring in highly potent marijuana,” Thornton says. “All of their
efforts are given to driving up the potency of THC in marijuana and
as a consequence they’ve also reduced the potency of
CBD.”
With marijuana legalization picking up steam and advocates like
Moriah spreading the word, many are hopeful that access to strains
with higher CBD levels may follow suit.
About 4:30 minutes.
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