Pubdate: Sun, 08 Feb 2015
Source: Rome News-Tribune (GA)
Copyright: 2015 Rome News-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.romenews-tribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1716
Author: Mike Lester, Washington Post Writers Group
Note: From the (Savannah) Morning News

ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

It's disappointing that Georgia's sheriffs oppose a measure that 
could do much good for Georgians who suffer from chronic diseases 
like cancer and seizure disorders. Last week, the executive director 
of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association, J. Terry Norris, said members 
of the organization are concerned that a bill that would legalize 
cannabis oil for medical use in limited circumstances would expand.

Mr. Norris told an Atlanta area TV station that the sheriffs didn't 
object to children getting the treatment. But adults apparently were 
another matter.

That prompts some questions. Did Georgia's elected sheriffs read the 
medical marijuana bill that state Rep. Allen Peake, a Republican from 
Macon, is sponsoring? Have they been following the logic behind it?

Or, are these lawmen mostly reacting to false assumptions, that 
passing this measure means more potheads, and that may hurt their 
re-election chances? Let's cut through the political haze. There 
exists within the marijuana plant a substance, called cannibis oil, 
that helps control seizures. No one is apparently sure why it does 
scientifically.

But medical testing is underway in places like the Georgia Regents 
University in Augusta, under U.S. Food and Drug Administration supervision.

In the meantime, a number of Georgia families are traveling to 
Colorado, where marijuana use is legal under state law, to get the 
medical help they need for their loved ones. In fact, 23 states have 
legalized marijuana for medical use.

True, the federal law currently lists marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, 
putting it on par with heroin and LSD. But increasing evidence shows 
that the feds are badly out of step on this issue.

That doesn't mean pot legalization, which raises a host of concerns, 
is the solution. Instead, it means that medical marijuana should be 
treated more like a prescription drug and less like a dangerous, 
highly addictive substance that ruins lives.

Peake's medical marijuana bill passed the state House last year, but 
stalled in the state Senate. He's giving it a second try this 
session. Let's hope he enlists State Sen. Ben Watson, a Republican 
from Savannah and a physician, to clear this hurdle.

Meanwhile, sheriffs who don't trust lawmakers - a not unreasonable 
assumption at times - should listen to State Rep. Bill Hitchens, a 
Republican from Rincon. He retired after a long, stellar career from 
the Georgia State Patrol. If Mr. Peake's bill was a bad one, he'd be 
among the first to shoot it down. Instead, he's backing it.

"Marijuana oil has some medical benefits for those that suffer from 
health conditions causing seizures," Mr. Hitchens said in a guest 
column published last month in EffinghamNow, a sister publication of 
this newspaper. "I support tightly worded legislation that allows the 
use of marijuana oil for medicinal purposes only and has stiff 
penalties outside of this use."

He went on to say that he won't support a bill that allows marijuana 
to be grown and sold for recreational drug use - a position that many 
Georgians support at this point.

Georgia's sheriffs should stop blowing smoke, examine the facts and 
support the safe and humane treatment of fellow Georgians who are suffering.
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