During the 2014 General Assembly, Kay Godwin and I, co-founders of the Capitol Coalition of Conservative Leaders, and other conservatives even on the religious right supported the use of medical cannabis for intractable seizure disorder.
My heart broke for children suffering day and night with more thanto 300 violent seizures per week that only had one medical choice, and that was to basically be put in a nearly comatose state by prescription drugs. The accounts of parents who had used medical cannabis oil and had amazing success — in some cases taking the seizures down to less than two per week — were encouraging.
One mother stated she had truly not “met” her daughter until the child was 7, when medicinal cannabis (high in cannabidiol and low in THC) allowed her to function normally, to talk, walk, play and communicate as a normal, healthy child — all without a high and without the hideous side affects of FDA-approved prescription drugs. Conservative Republican legislator Allen Peake, who led the effort in the state House, is both brave and pioneering. He has my respect, and I am proud to have supported the legislation and will continue to support it.
One question regularly asked is whether the legalization of marijuana for medical use opens the door to legalization for recreational use. I do not believe that to be the case, nor is it a solid basis for an argument against its medical use. If that argument is used, then shouldn’t we also consider banning morphine, codeine, pseudoephedrine and many other widely-used drugs? After all, they are all abused outside of strict medical uses by irresponsible people.
The fact is, anything can be abused, but when a substance’s medical use outweighs its potential for abuse, it would be foolish, even cruel, to ban its use. And the most important point to make on this hybrid cannabis oil is that it is not smoked, it doesn’t make one high and it is low in THC.
So let’s balance medical need with common sense.
The argument I make for cannabis’ medical use I believe to be true while being opposed to its recreational use. I would never support hallucinogens, narcotics, or traditional marijuana becoming unregulated and open to the public for recreational use due to the potential for abuse we see with vicodin, pseudoephedrine and other drugs. We don’t ban their specific medical use, but we don’t support their use for recreational pleasure, either.
Yes, I am pro-liberty, but also believe my personal liberty should not infringe upon another’s safety; we have the right to live in a safe society. Abuse of any narcotic for pleasure can, and most always does, lead to addiction. Addiction leads to heavier use and opens the door to harder drugs. This is a proven fact and in turn puts public safety at risk. It causes the need for more tax dollars to be spent on police and the courts.
It is important to point out that although I do not support recreational use, I do not believe users should be locked up, either. I fully support drug courts and alternative sentencing for non-violent offenders; I applaud Gov. Nathan Deal for his leadership in judicial reform.
In the time I have spent writing this, I realize what a very difficult subject this is. I will continue to fight for the rights of parents who want the choice of using medical cannabis for their children with intractable epilepsy. But when it comes to recreational use, let’s balance facts with common sense. It is not an easy subject. There are a lot of gray areas, and a diplomatic discussion needs to continue.
Julianne Thompson is co-chair of the Atlanta Tea Party.
