Medical Marijuana Bill Back On Track

The oil extract was supposed to come from Colorado, where marijuana is decriminalized. But recently concerns were raised that importing the cannabis oil would violate federal law.

So Rep. Alan Peake, R-Macon, amended his bill.

“We want it in the tightest, most restricted environment we can have so we have chosen academic medical centers to be the place we would allow cultivation, processing, and distribution,” said Peake.

Among the handful of allowed institutions include Emory and Morehouse.

With the changes, the bill cleared the House Health and Human Service Committee.

“It was a unanimous vote out of the health committee because every single one of them came to the same conclusion as I did – that if it was my child that had the seizure disorder and this was the last hope and effort to be able to help them with a better quality of life they would do whatever they could do,” said Peake.

The bill must pass the full House by Monday’s Crossover Day deadline if it has a chance to become law this year. It’s currently not on the voting calendar yet, but Peake expects it to pass by day’s end.