Pubdate: Wed, 19 Aug 2015
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
Copyright: 2015 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Contact:  http://www.ajc.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28
Author: Kristina Torres

MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE OFF TO A FAST START IN GA.

More Than 130 Register; Doctors Want More Info.

As of Aug. 11, more than 130 patients including 12-year-old Sydney 
Wages had qualified for Georgia's new medical marijuana registry 
after its first 50 days.

DALLAS, GA. - Twilight fell on the Wages family's compound, easing 
the August heat as Jim "J-Bo" Wages gently wrapped his arm around his 
12-year-old daughter, Sydney, and kissed her cheek. His message 
received, J-Bo turned the key to the family four-wheeler and it 
roared to life. A smile fluttered across his daughter's face, and 
they raced across the yard.
CURTIS COMPTON / AJC Lisa Wages helps her daughter, Sydney, down the 
steps of their home for a family outing recently in Dallas, Ga. The 
Wages were among the very first to receive permission from the state 
to use low-dose cannabis oil without fear of prosecution.

This was another good day for Sydney, who has autism and suffers from 
intractable seizures. Just like when the family recently celebrated a 
new milestone: 10 days seizure-free.

As of Aug. 11, more than 130 patients including Sydney had qualified 
for Georgia's new medical marijuana registry after its first 50 days 
of business. Yet the pace - celebrated by families and advocates - 
comes as some doctors have begun calling for training and information 
about the oil and how it works.

Those concerns in the medical community are not the only hurdles 
facing families here - the new law legalizing a limited form of 
cannabis oil to treat illnesses including cancer, Parkinson's disease 
and epilepsy does not address the oil's manufacture or how to buy or 
obtain it.

In fact, the sale of any form of marijuana remains a violation of 
state and federal law. Yet, 23 states, plus the District of Columbia 
and Guam, offer some form of legalized use of marijuana for medical 
purposes. And Georgia this year created a way to protect some people 
from criminal prosecution for having a limited form of the oil in 
their possession.

Advocates, families and doctors here are trying to figure out how 
best to do that practically.

"This field of treatment is in its infancy," said Dr. James L. Smith 
Jr., an emergency room doctor who called himself "arrogant about what 
I thought was my fund of knowledge" when he first encountered 
cannabis oil as a possible treatment - one that has since been 
successful - for his now 8-year-old daughter, who suffers from a 
severe form of epilepsy called Doose syndrome.

The concerns, however, do not necessarily mean resistance, he said.

"I think physicians have been hesitant to start because of their lack 
of knowledge of how to dose it," said Smith, a board member of the 
influential Medical Association of Georgia. "As a physician, I 
understand that. I think the physician community has been genuinely 
interested and wants to know more."

The Wages family was among the first to receive permission from the 
state to use low-dose cannabis oil without fear of prosecution, 
although the family first encountered the oil two years ago after 
watching a national television news program about the oil's use. By 
then, Sydney had spent eight years off any of the seven different 
federally approved pharmaceutical drugs she had initially been 
prescribed by doctors - a decision J-Bo and his wife, Lisa, prayed 
over after seeing a visibly more alert and verbal child off the 
medicine than on it.

Working initially through a naturopathic doctor, the family found a 
now-California-based company called Dixie Botanicals: "I contacted 
the lady that Monday and I said, 'Ma'am, I'm trying to get the CBD 
(cannabidiol) oil. I have a daughter with epilepsy.' She said, 'OK, 
they have a 2ounce bottle,' and that 2ounce bottle was $160. And, she 
said, 'I suggest using the cinnamon flavor,'" J-Bo said of that 
initial phone call.

When he asked whether it was legal, J-Bo said he was told, "Hon, you're fine."

"She said by the Farm Act, it's less than 0.3 percent THC (the 
high-inducing chemical associated with recreational marijuana use), 
so it's legal to ship anywhere," he said.

It is not clear that federal officials would agree with that 
statement, since the federal farm bill involved limited provisions 
related to industrial hemp. Marijuana continues to be classified by 
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule I drug, the 
most dangerous class of drugs with a high potential for abuse and 
addiction, and no accepted medical uses.

For the Wages family, however, it was a start. That first experience 
led to several others as they worked - sometimes through trial and 
error - to figure out what would best help Sydney. They learned to 
request laboratory reports and researched different and more 
effective strains of the oil. Knowledge came through word of mouth 
and, eventually, by connecting with other Georgia families seeking the same.

Sydney now uses "Palmetto Harmony" cannabis oil manufactured through 
a South Carolina company called Palmetto Synergistic Research - one 
of three companies shipping low-dose oil into Georgia.

They think the oil has helped Sydney. Her seizures are shorter since 
she started on the oil, they said. On average, she now has a seizure 
only once or maybe twice a week.

"We have rescue medicines, and it's sort of the norm," J-Bo said. "We 
get - not to say used to it - we sort of get like when you cut your 
finger. You cut it enough in one place, you get a callus. We sort of 
get callused to it. I don't want this to sound any disrespectful way, 
but I don't think I would want Sydney any different. She's taught us 
so much about unconditional love, faith, patience."

When Sydney began using the oil, the Wages family returned to a 
medical doctor who used to treat her. He is monitoring her. She is 
still not on medicines approved by the Food and Drug Administration, 
although the family regularly schedules visits for checkups, 
including blood tests.

The Medical Association of Georgia has been vocal about getting 
doctors access to seminars or online webinars as they seek more 
information about how the oil works. Some physicians worry the oil 
is, in effect, experimental and not approved by the FDA.

Groups including the Georgia-based Oil for Epilepsy have started to 
explore how to connect doctors to new and existing research, as well 
as information about how the oil works and how it's extracted. There 
is also talk of forming a new state coalition of people in the 
medical cannabis industry to help inform doctors and patients about 
their treatment options and access.

The state Department of Public Health has already partnered with the 
Georgia Composite Medical Board to develop the process for physicians 
who may be approached by patients seeking the oil for treatment. 
Public health officials have so far approved 162 doctors for its new 
registry, which went live in June.

Georgia has also begun to explore how to develop guidelines related 
to cultivation and production.

The newly formed state Commission on Medical Cannabis next meets Aug. 
26 to talk with manufacturers and growers. Among the topics they are 
likely to address is the process they use to cultivate plants for the 
oil. That includes safety, security measures and testing that, among 
the top manufacturers, is often done by independent UL-listed laboratories.

"I think there's just a need for additional information in the 
medical community of what exactly these products are," said state 
Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, the primary author of the new law, who has 
been among those willing to bridge the gap as needed. "We've made 
sure families that have wanted the product and properly registered 
with the state have gotten the product." 
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom