More than 60% of people who use medical marijuana want to relieve chronic pain. Wochit, Montgomery Advertiser
It’s not medical marijuana. But it’s a start.
An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved a bill that would establish a commission to develop legislation and regulations for medical cannabis – a step back from a much more ambitious Senate version, but one that is more likely to the pass the House.
“It’s at a point where we can all work with it,” said Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, the sponsor of the bill. “It’s a big step and everybody is stepping out of their comfort zone.”
House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, said after the vote there was a “good possibility” the bill would be on the floor of the House on Thursday.
The bill originally would have allowed patients suffering from a dozen conditions – including opioid addiction; cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder – to use medical marijuana if they had the recommendation of two physicians and if other remedies failed to work. The patient would need a special card to get medical cannabis, which would cost $65 a year.
The measure passed the Senate 17 to 6 earlier this month but ran into opposition in the House over questions of dosage and enforcement. Supporters said last week they expected the bill to be altered to protect an ongoing UAB study of cannabidiol (CBD) oil and replace the authorization with a commission that would develop regulations and propose model legislation by December.
The committee adopted those changes Wednesday. The bill will establish a 15-member commission, consisting of at least four physicians – one with experience in pain management; a pediatric neurologist, an oncologist and one who works in palliative care; a district attorney, a criminal defense attorney and an attorney who specializes in employment law; a licensed pharmacist and a mental health or substance abuse counselor.
The commission would have to hold at least three public meetings during the year, as well as develop recommendations for medical cannabis implementation by Dec. 1. The commission would formally dissolve on the last day of the 2020 regular session unless the legislature extended it.
More: Patients plead for medical marijuana access at House hearing
NEWSLETTERS
Thank you! You’re almost signed up for
Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration.
The bill also extends Carly’s Law, the 2014 law that created a UAB study of CBD oil and allowed the use of CBD oil for its participants. The bill extends the study to July 1, 2020.
Dustin Chandler, whose daughter Carly is the namesake of Carly’s Law, pushed legislators for the original medical marijuana bill but was philosophical after the committee vote on Wednesday.
“Progress is progress,” he said. “People are going to look at this and say it’s really not. People that have not done this before have to understand that trying to get progress on anything is difficult. So I see this as a positive.”
Melson was also trying to accentuate the positive, noting that in the original bill, medical marijuana would not have been available until 2021.
“There’s a lot of people out there who need it, whether it’s oncology patients, or MS, or ALS or all these diseases where it’s been shown to be beneficial,” he said.
At the same time, Melson acknowledged that getting authorization of medical marijuana through the legislature next year could be difficult.
“Is there any bill that’s not a big lift down here?” he said. “So yes, it’s going to be a big lift.”
Read or Share this story: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/05/29/medical-marijuana-bill-now-medical-marijuana-commission-bill/1276496001/
