Pubdate: Fri, 27 Feb 2015
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2015 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Rachel Weiner

GOVERNOR ALLOWS POT OIL TO TREAT EPILEPSY

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) signed legislation Thursday 
allowing the use of medical marijuana oil for people suffering from 
severe epilepsy.

As marijuana becomes legal in the District, advocates in neighboring 
Virginia said they thought even this first small step toward medical 
use would never be taken.

"They said hell would freeze over before this would ever pass," said 
Robert Smith, whose 14-year-old daughter, Haley, has daily seizures - 
and suffered one during a committee hearing on the bill this year. 
"Seeing how horrific it is, it softened a lot of hearts," he said.

The Smiths are planning to try the oil, which for many patients has 
dramatically reduced seizures without the debilitating side effects 
of epilepsy drugs, as soon as the law takes effect in April. Along 
with other families, they began lobbying for the bill in January 
2014, pressing research and personal stories on skeptical politicians.

Before signing the bill, the governor said that epilepsy is an issue 
close to his heart. The best man at his wedding, former California 
congressman Anthony Coelho, has epilepsy and is chairman of the board 
of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation.

"No state should have laws . . . where our great Virginia residents 
might say, ' I have to move to another state because we can't provide 
the treatment for our children,' " McAuliffe said. Now, he said, 
"everybody will stay in Virginia."

Beth Collins of Fairfax is one such parent, who temporarily moved 
with teenage daughter Jennifer to Colorado to use marijuana oil. 
While the treatment was effective, Jennifer told lawmakers that she 
missed her friends, her school and the rest of her family while 
isolated in Colorado Springs. The mother and daughter, who moved back 
to Fairfax late last year, cried as the governor signed the bill.

"We're so happy that Jennifer can now stay here in Virginia where she 
belongs," Beth Collins said. "We were told it couldn't be done, but I 
never doubted that it could."

Some lawmakers cautioned that the bill's passage was not a sign of a 
larger movement to relax marijuana laws in Virginia. Others 
celebrated what they saw as a big moment. Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D), 
who is running for governor in 2017, tweeted:  Thank you 
for signing this bill in to law, it will make a huge difference in 
the lives of these children & families!"

Hurdles remain. The law McAuliffe signed provides what is known as an 
"affirmative defense" from prosecution for anyone with a doctor's 
certification that marijuana oil is being used to treat intractable 
epilepsy, and allows doctors to issue such certifications. In other 
words, possessing the oil will be technically illegal - but 
prosecutors will be prohibited from prosecuting such cases.

Also, cultivating marijuana remains illegal in Virginia - lawmakers 
showed no interest this year in changing that law - so the new 
measure does not provide for a legal means to produce the oil within 
state borders. And because possession remains illegal under federal 
law, lawmakers could not find a way to legalize transport of the oil 
across state lines - leaving it unclear how patients will procure it.

"The federal government has got some work to do," said Del. David B. 
Albo (R-Fairfax), who sponsored the bill along with Sen. David W. 
Marsden (D-Fairfax). Collins and other parents are lobbying the Obama 
administration to reclassify marijuana.

Medical marijuana for the treatment of cancer and glaucoma has been 
technically legal in Virginia since 1979, but there has never been a 
legal avenue for its prescription or distribution.

McAuliffe has repeatedly said that he is open to any legislation 
legalizing marijuana use when scientific evidence shows it has a medical value.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom