Pubdate: Tue, 11 Feb 2014
Source: Florida Times-Union (FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Florida Times-Union
Contact:  http://www.jacksonville.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/155
Author: Andy Miller

GEORGIA MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL CAN PASS ONLY AFTER SIGNIFICANT
REVISIONS, SPONSOR SAYS

ATLANTA - The sponsor of a medical marijuana bill said Monday after a
three-hour legislative hearing that the proposal must get significant
revisions before it can move forward in the Georgia General Assembly.

State Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, said he was unsure of the specific
changes needed to House Bill 885 that would give Georgia children, who
have no other treatment options, the opportunity to receive
therapeutic cannabidiol to treat their seizures.

Peake's efforts, though, drew support from the vast majority of people
who packed the hearing room, including parents who tearfully testified
their children suffer multiple seizures a day.

Physicians who testified at the House Health and Human Services
Committee hearing agreed that the therapeutic oil, which does not have
the psychoactive qualities of typical marijuana, has proved effective
in providing relief from seizures, but needs more thorough study.

The legislation is scheduled for another hearing Thursday.

The medical marijuana testimony was part of a busy health care day at
the Capitol, as lawmakers continued to work hard to move key
legislation in a compressed time period. This year's legislative
session is a short one because party primaries will be held unusually
early.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Monday approved a
revamp of the state's child welfare services; a bill to increase
monitoring of the state's community service boards; and a proposal
that would allow public health officials to inform medical providers
of a patient's HIV status if the patient is not in treatment.

The panel approved a fourth bill that would require that one of the
nine board members of the Department of Community Health also be an
active member of the State Health Benefit Plan.

The state employee and teacher health plan, which Community Health
oversees, has been the subject of controversy since major changes were
launched Jan. 1. Members of the plan have bombarded officials with
complaints. The legislation would give these consumers "a voice on the
board," said state Sen. Joshua McKoon, R-Columbus, its sponsor.

Much of the state's child welfare system would be replaced by private
companies and organizations under Senate Bill 350, sponsored by Sen.
Renee Unterman, R-Buford.

That system is broken, Unterman said. She cited the recent deaths of
two children, including a 10-year-old Gwinnett County girl whose
charred body was discovered in a trash can. Her death "was the straw
that broke the camel's back," Unterman said.

The legislation would create a public-private partnership under which
services for adoption, foster care, family reunification and case
management would be contracted out, with the state divided up into 15
regions. The state government's Division of Family and Children
Services would retain control over child protective services and
investigations of neglect and abuse.
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