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What’s covered in medical marijuana bill
House Bill 1 would make it legal to possess up to 20 ounces of medical cannabis oil, with a doctor’s prescription, to treat these disorders:
Cancer
Crohn’s disease
Fibromyalgia
Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Mitochondrial disease
Multiple sclerosis
Parkinson’s disease
Seizure disorders
Legislation that would legalize the use of medical marijuana in Georgia has new critics: African-American lawmakers upset that the list of qualified conditions was changed to exclude sickle cell anemia.
The genetic disease that overwhelmingly affects African-Americans was removed from House Bill 1's list of qualified disorders, along others such as autism and Alzheimer's disease, after law enforcement and the governor's office expressed concern that the bill was deviating from its original goal of helping children with seizure disorders.
Sponsored by Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, an amended version of HB 1 could reach the House floor as soon as Wednesday.
"I'm very disappointed," said Rep. Gloria Frazier, D-Hephzibah. "I worked with Rep. Allen Peake to add it on because of the concern I have with over 200,000 sickle cell patients in this state who suffer every day."
Frazier, a sickle cell disease advocate, said she explained to Peake that Georgia should be a national leader in providing help for sufferers.
Peake said he worked to make HB 1 consistent with the 23 other states and the District of Columbia that have legalized medical marijuana. None of those cover sickle cell, he said, although most cover seizures, cancer and other disorders included in his bill.
“I’m open-minded,” Peake said. “The more people we help the better.”
Where medical marijuana has been legalized, however, only the District of Columbia has a higher percentage of African-American residents than Georgia. Fifty-one percent of those living in the nation’s capital are African-American, compared with 32 percent in Georgia. In Maryland, too, 32 percent of the population is black, but no other state on the list has more than Delaware’s 24 percent, according to census data.
That, Frazier said, “is why we should be including this to make sure we’re affording our constituents every opportunity to lead a decent and normal life.”
Peake said sickle cell wasn’t the only disorder to be removed from the bill. Alzheimer’s, autism and terminal illness were among the others. Still included are seizure disorders, cancer, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The first priority is to pass a bill “that I’m confident will get the ultimate signature,” he said, referring to Gov. Nathan Deal.
Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said the governor is “not picking winners and losers on the list.”
“While it’s true he doesn’t want it overly broad — our main mission is helping children who suffer from seizures — he’s happy to talk with legislators if there’s anything on the list that would raise concerns for him,” Robinson said.
Frazier said she intends to do just that.
“We’ll meet with the governor’s deputy,” she said. “We need to be the premier state that all states should follow.”
Deb McGhee-McCrary, the chief executive officer of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, said she hopes the disease is added back to the bill.
“This legislation is important because the present forms of chronic pain treatments are solely inadequate for sickle cell patients,” she said. “It has become increasingly clear that inflammation, which contributes to pain, can be reduced by cannabinoids. This legislation offers tremendous hope.”
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