Fifteen months ago, a local reporter asked me if there was any interest in the General Assembly in taking on the medical marijuana issue for the 2014 legislative session. I told him, emphatically, that there was none, and that I did not foresee the issue coming up anytime soon in Georgia.
A week later, I met a little 4-year-old girl named Haleigh and her courageous mom and dad, and was I proved ever so wrong. I learned Haleigh was having 100 to 200 seizures a day, and medical cannabis oil had shown evidence of stopping those seizures. Once I heard Haleigh and her mom were making plans to move to Colorado, where cannabis oil is legal, I was confronted with the question each of us have to ask: What would I do if this was my child?
Asking myself this question was the beginning of a journey into uncharted territory for me and the entire General Assembly, as we confronted hurdles that made it very difficult to attempt to pass or legalize any form of medical marijuana in this state. Many citizens, and many of my colleagues, worried we would be going down a slippery slope and eventually legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. The challenges were too difficult to overcome last year, and the bill, House Bill 885, failed on the last day of the session.
It was a crushing blow, as we knew children would die before we would have the opportunity to try to pass legislation again. And yes, we lost some of Georgia’s children whose parents lobbied at the state Capitol – Trinity Sumlin, Abe Hopkins, Mary Elizabeth Hopkins, Lela Hall — young kids whose lives could have been extended, and improved, with medical cannabis.
Losing those precious children only energized the parents who lobbied and worked so hard last year, and they were determined to convince our elected officials that Georgia’s children, and other hurting citizens, deserve a chance to have legal access to cannabis oil in this state.
During the last year, 17 Georgia families moved to another state to access cannabis oil and were determined to give their child an opportunity to see if this medicine could stop their child’s seizures. Every family saw a reduced number of seizures, and they also saw improved cognitive ability, and many were weaned off debilitating FDA anti-seizure drugs. They found out the medicine worked, but they were medical refugees, and they desperately wanted to come home to reunite with their spouses and support networks.
The very good news is that these Georgia families will now be able to come home with the passage of HB 1, named the Haleigh’s Hope Act, after the young girl who inspired our entire state. HB 1 will provide immunity from prosecution for possession of medical cannabis oil for eight medical conditions including cancer, multiple sclerosis, seizures, ALS, Parkinson’s, Crohn’s, and mitochondrial and sickle cell diseases. After citizens or caregivers receive a physician’s recommendation, they will be eligible to receive a registration card from the state, affirming they can legally possess the oil in Georgia.
However, these individuals will still be required to legally obtain the oil in another state. This will be the case until we come up with a safe, effective and strictly regulated cultivation and delivery system in our state. A commission will be created to study the best way to do that in Georgia. Its recommendation will be made to the governor and General Assembly by Dec. 31. Commission members willinclude medical professionals, law enforcement officials, pharmacists, government agency representatives and elected officials.
While this step is too far for some and not far enough for others, it will give some Georgia citizens the option to obtain medicine that could change their lives. It is a step in the right direction, and that is a good thing for Georgians.
Many people deserve credit for the passage of this bill: the parents who lobbied at the Capitol almost every day to share their lives and their stories; my House colleagues who supported this initiative early and at great political risk; House Speaker David Ralston, who made this a priority; Gov. Nathan Deal, who worked behind the scenes to support bringing our medical refugees home and who led the charge for a clinical-trial protocol; and our senators and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who agreed our state should move in this direction.
I also have to thank the citizens of Georgia. Your voice was heard loud and clear at the state Capitol. And our state, and our fellow citizens, are now better off because of it.
State Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, sponsored House Bill 1.
