State Leaders Address Medical Marijuana Solutions

Gov. Nathan Deal says he is working as fast as he can to make some form of medical marijuana available. But Deal doesn’t sound terribly confident, saying Wednesday, “It may be a dead end — I hope that’s not the case,” even before he met that day with state staffers to start investigating how the state might make medicinal marijuana oil available.

He acknowledged it is harder to do with no legislative mandate and harder still given federal marijuana laws. Now Deal appears to be looking to the feds for help. “I feel like that the federal government and Congress will take heed of what is happening not only in Georgia but in other states related to this issue,” said Deal, “and they could take action that would make our solutions a little easier if they could remove those restraints.” 

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle also weighed in Wednesday on efforts to help to help those with seizure disorders gain access to an oil-based form of medical marijuana, making a plea to prosecutors.

“I will call personally on every prosecutor in this state to not prosecute any parent that is trying to help their child with cannabis oil that has a seizure disorder,’ said Cagle, “and I don’t think there is any prosecutor that is going to prosecute a parent that is trying to give their child a better way of life.”

During the legislative session, senators attached language requiring autism insurance coverage for young children to a bill that would have made it illegal to prosecute Georgians who obtained the oil-based form of marijuana for seizures. The bill did not pass due to Republican infighting.

Cagle said he was sorry the legislature did not deliver something to help those with seizure disorders, but he says the legislation did not solve the problem. “We want a remedy out there that says you can’t transport this product across state lines,” said Cagle.

Cagle says a legislative study committee will explore how to get a supply of the oil to those who need it. “There’s the ability to look at an in-state depository where we would be able to do it in a regulatory environment that would be right,” said Cagle, adding, “There are many solutions.”

Cagle also said the governor will be addressing the issue in the near future.

More than 20 states currently have some kind of medical marijuana law.