Medical marijuana expansion in Ga. OK’d with governor’s signature

The medical marijuana program in Georgia will grow under a bill that Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law Tuesday afternoon.

Under Senate Bill 16, the qualifying diagnoses that will be added for treatment with a form of cannabis oil allowed in Georgia are AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, the painful skin disease epidermolysis bullosa, peripheral neuropathy and Tourette’s syndrome. Patients under hospice care may also use the oil.

“While this is a good step for today, the challenge is still access for all citizens,” state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, told The Telegraph. Peake authored the legislation in the House and has championed the issue.

In Georgia, patients can legally possess a maximum of 20 fluid ounces of cannabis oil with a maximum of 5 percent THC, the component in marijuana that makes users high.

The use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 29 states, although there is considerable variation in laws from state to state, including how it is produced and distributed, how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for.

“It’s time for the state of Georgia to embrace the reality that medical marijuana is here,” Peake said.

And if it’s here, he added, it’s time to take the next steps, expand its use and regulate it.

As of Tuesday, 1,738 patients in Georgia and 354 doctors have registered with the state to use and administer medical marijuana.

In a statement, Peake thanked House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle for their efforts in getting the bill to Deal’s desk so that “more hurting Georgians with debilitating illnesses (can) have a ray of hope for a better quality of life.”

He added, “My hope is that in 2018 we can fill the gaping hole that still remains, and provide legal access to medical cannabis oil here in our state with a safe, lab-tested product produced within our own borders. The job will not be finished until we accomplish this task.”

Early in the 2017 legislative session, Peake filed a proposal that would set up a statewide vote in 2018 on the cultivation and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes. The measure languished, however.

“Its clear we’re going to have a hard time passing a cultivation bill (in the state Legislature) for the next two years” he said at the time. “So why not put it in front of the voters, where every poll shows there’s clear evidence that voters support this?”

Deal signed Georgia’s medical cannabis possession law in 2015, but he has not supported cultivation. He has said he thinks the industry could not be kept under control.

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Medical marijuana expansion in Ga. OK’d with governor’s signature."