Governor's Office Cites Related Florida Case. Opponents of Law That Took Effect Tuesday Preparing to Sue. The state will hold off on implementation until a court rules on a related Florida case, As a new state law to drug test welfare recipients went into effect Tuesday, state officials said they will delay enforcing it, even as opponents were girding to sue. With the passage this spring of House Bill 772, the Georgia Legislature and Gov. Nathan Deal approved the nation's hardest-hitting law that calls for drug tests on recipients of poverty aid. [continues 487 words]
Committee Will Look at Legalizing Limited Use. Georgia lawmakers are moving ahead with plans to study the legalization of medical marijuana. General Assembly leaders began this week to appoint committee members charged with making recommendations on the issue, after the state House and Senate failed to reach a compromise in the waning hours of this year's legislative session. State Rep. Allen Peake, RMacon, will lead the committee along with Senate Health and Human Services Chairwoman Renee Unterman, R-Buford. The appointments come amid a flurry of announcements from the state Capitol over assignments to a number of panels. Some study committees spend state money to look into issues of debatable value, such as self-driving cars. Others will tackle serious issues, such as the state's controversial attempts to store water in underground aquifers. [continues 256 words]
Congratulations to the leadership of Holly Springs and to their police for preparing all their officers with drug overdose kits and the first to do so in the state of Georgia. As a result, they saved a life recently with one of these kits, recommended by one of their own who had lost her child to drug-induced asthma. What are the rest of our communities going to do? Sandy Springs, wake up. RALPH MARION, SANDY SPRINGS [end]
Trained last week, Holly Springs cop saved woman from overdose In the nine months since her daughter's death, Holly Springs Lieutenant Tanya Smith has done more than grieve. Smith was instrumental in the passage of legislation allowing drug overdose kits to be carried by non-medical personnel. Last week her department became the first in the state to carry the naloxone kits and now it has paid off. Sergeant Nathan Ernst used it Wednesday morning to save a 24-year-old woman who was unconscious and experiencing seizures from an overdose. [continues 506 words]
It doesn't matter whether you credit God or Charles Darwin. The looks that babies give us are designed to bring out our most protective instincts. And so the image of 19-month-old Bounkham "Bou Bou" Phonesavanh, with his face burned away by a flash-bang police grenade hurled into his playpen, has done more than wring a few hearts. In little more than a week, the injured toddler has sparked a rare alliance of Georgia's disparate political factions: rural Republicans and urban blacks, tea partyers and liberal Democrats - all out to rein in the use of "no-knock" search warrants. [continues 837 words]
Gov. Nathan Deal said Monday he's awaiting an investigation of the botched drug raid in Habersham County that left a child on life support to determine if any executive action or state legislation is needed. "Any time you have bad facts like this one, it does give you cause for concern," Deal said. "It's one of those things that require a thorough investigation =C2=85 to know what if anything we can learn from it." Habersham County District Attorney Brian Rickman said he is investigating whether any officers violated the law when they used a controversial "no-knock warrant" for a raid on a Cornelia house Wednesday =2E [continues 550 words]
The Habersham County toddler's injuries ("Toddler severely hurt in police raid," News, May 30) are the predictable result of our militarized policing and the drug war. After four decades of the "War on Drugs," America's police forces have more military hardware than do many countries' armies. According to the Cato Institute, more than 50,000 "no knock" warrants are issued here each year. These military-style raids predictably lead to tragedies like the one Thursday. Countries like Switzerland and Portugal, in contrast, treat addiction and drug abuse as a public health issue. It's time we follow their examples; it's time for a cease fire. WARREN GOODWIN, ATLANTA [end]
All citizens should be outraged by the Habersham County Sheriff's office. ("Toddler severely hurt in police raid," News, May 30). Police officers stormed a house and threw a "distraction device" into a 19-month-old boy's playpen. The child now has a 50 percent chance of survival and extensive facial injuries for life and possible brain damage, assuming he survives. Apparently Sheriff Joey Terrell relied on a confidential informant to get a "no knock" warrant for a house where the informant allegedly bought drugs. Apparently no surveillance was done prior to busting down the door and inflicting carnage on an innocent baby boy. The person the sheriff wanted to arrest was not even home and those who were there were visitors from Wisconsin. They had no connection to the alleged drug activity. If the sheriff's office would have simply done some cursory surveillance it would have discovered the van parked in front of the house had infant car seats and other indications of the baby being there. If they would have staked out the house to determine if and when the person they were looking for was there, they most likely would have discovered the baby and family. T. DENNIS BICKHAM III, ATLANTA [end]
State, Federal Agencies Look into Incident That Left Child Badly Hurt. The investigation into the botched drug raid that left a baby critically injured is growing to include state and federal authorities. "As a parent, I can't imagine the horrible nightmare that this family is enduring," said U.S. Attorney Sally Yates on Tuesday. "Federal and state authorities are coordinating to get to the bottom of what happened." The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday that at the request of the district attorney it would investigate whether narcotics officers violated the law in executing a controversial "no-knock" search warrant last Wednesday. [continues 573 words]
Attorney: 2010 Raid Mirrors Botched One in Habersham County. Injured Parties in Both Cases Were Not Targets. Like the baby in Habersham County, a woman ended up in intensive care after Clayton County SWAT officers tossed a flash-bang grenade that she contends landed on her as she slept. Treneshia Dukes, now 27, said in an ongoing federal lawsuit that police tossed the grenade through her bedroom window nearly four years ago when executing a "no-knock" search warrant. She spent three days in Grady Memorial Hospital's intensive care burn unit. [continues 389 words]
A drug buy, a no-knock police raid and a flash-bang grenade have left a 19-month-old child clinging to life today and his family and commentators questioning the tactics that put him in intensive care. The 3 a.m. raid Wednesday in Habersham County unearthed no drugs, no weapons, no bundles of cash and not even the suspect drug dealer. It left a visiting family from Wisconsin -- whom authorities described as unlucky innocents -- terrified, and their son on a ventilator. The raid also puts the spotlight on the controversial no-knock warrants and whether magistrates too easily approve them, said Robert Friedmann, a policing expert at Georgia State University. Friedmann noted the no-knock warrants -- where police officers kick in doors instead of announcing their presence -- are common in drug cases but "the problem is you come up with consequences like this. Police have a hard time explaining. They can explain and they can explain. [continues 710 words]
CORNELIA, Ga. -- A toddler caught in the middle of a drug raid was seriously injured Wednesday when a police flash grenade exploded in his playpen. The raid in which the 19-month-old child, who is recovering at Grady Hospital's burn unit in Atlanta, was injured was at a house in Habersham County. Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell, who described the device in various ways - a "stun grenade" and "flash grenade" and "flash bang" - said there was no indication that a family with four children were guests in the suspected drug dealer's house when his team went in and threw that flash grenade to try to arrest the suspect. [continues 377 words]
Heroin use is on the rise statewide, while many other drugs appear to be waning, according to an analysis of drug submissions to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab. The analysis shows heroin submissions have increased by more than 300 percent since 2011. The current fiscal year has seen a 20 percent increase, while all other drugs during that period have decreased by 22 percent. It's a problem local police are also dealing with. Richmond County sheriff's Sgt. Jason Vinson took a four-year break from the narcotics division to work in criminal investigations. When he recently returned to narcotics, he said he was surprised at the drug's sudden popularity. [continues 326 words]
Supporters for marijuana law reform rallied outside the Athens-Clarke County City Hall on Monday. "Marijuana is a popular issue around the country right now, and we are here to basically bring public attention to the fact that we are not criminals and people who use marijuana are no more criminal than a person who drinks wine," said James Bell, director of the Georgia Campaign for Access Reform and Education Project. The rally was facilitated by the Georgia CARE Project. Bell said he expected up to 50 people, from different areas of Georgia and other states, to attend the event. [continues 511 words]
It swallowed people up. That's what it really did, if you want to know the truth. It swallowed them up whole, swallowed them up by the millions. In the process, it hollowed out communities, broke families, stranded hope. Politicians brayed that they were being "tough on crime" -- as if anyone is really in favor of crime -- as they imposed ever longer and more inflexible sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. But the "War on Drugs" didn't hurt drugs at all: Usage rose by 2,800 percent - -- that's not a typo -- in the 40 years after it began in 1971. The "War" also made America the biggest jailer on Earth and drained a trillion dollars -- still not a typo -- from the treasury. [continues 515 words]
ATLANTA - Gov. Nathan Deal has signed into law a bill that would grant amnesty in some cases to those who seek medical help in the event of a drug overdose. Deal signed the bill Thursday, and it takes immediate effect. Lawmakers had overwhelmingly passed the "Georgia 911 Medical Amnesty Law." Supporters of the law argue some people are too afraid to call for medical help for themselves or others because they fear prosecution on drug charges. The law would grant amnesty only on drug possession charges when amounts are small. Supporters say the bill won't help drug dealers, but could save lives. Some 17 states have passed similar so-called "Good Samaritan laws." [end]
Americans are confused about medical marijuana. On the one hand, research shows some of marijuana's components may become useful medicines. Two, Marinol and Cesamet, already are. Both are synthetic versions of THC, marijuana's psychoactive component. Doctors prescribe them to reduce chemotherapy-related nausea and AIDS wasting in patients when nothing else works. Two more, Sativex and Epidiolex, are undergoing U.S. clinical trials. Sativex is equal parts THC and cannabidiol. If it is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, doctors will prescribe it to treat advanced cancer pain, muscle spasticity and neuropathic pain caused by multiple sclerosis. Epidiolex is purified cannabidiol that contains no THC. It is just beginning clinical trials here to treat seizures caused by Dravet and LennoxGastaut syndromes. [continues 349 words]
Diverse Range Of People Said To Be Involved Even without a law to cover them in Georgia, dozens and maybe hundreds of people in the Augusta area are using marijuana or a derivative to treat ailments, one activist said. Medical marijuana activist Maison Harley said their shadowy use clamors for the state to extend legal protection amid an evolving understanding of the potential health benefits of cannabis. "That's the gray area that all of these families are having to go into," he said. "Most of them have taken it upon themselves to find these products via any means necessary." [continues 906 words]
ATLANTA - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Thursday announced two separate efforts to pursue clinical trials on a cannabis-based drug that has shown promise in helping children who suffer from seizure disorders. The first would pair a private pharmaceutical company with a Georgia Regents University professor and expand ongoing clinical trials of a product using cannabidiol, or CDB, a compound in marijuana that doesn't produce a high in users. The second model would create a new clinical trial led by the university, with cannabis obtained from the National Institute on Drug Abuse research farm at the University of Mississippi. A new trial likely would take longer to begin because it requires more steps for federal approval, Deal said. [continues 358 words]
Georgia Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon is to be commended for making the case for medical cannabis. While there have been studies showing that cannabis can shrink cancerous tumors, medical cannabis is essentially a palliative drug. If a doctor recommends cannabis to a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy and it helps them feel better, then it's working. In the end, medical cannabis is a quality of life decision best left to patients and their doctors. Drug warriors waging war on non-corporate drugs contend that organic cannabis is not an effective health intervention. Their prescribed intervention for medical cannabis patients is handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach suggests that drug warriors should not be dictating health-care decisions. It's long past time to let doctors decide what is right for their patients; sick patients should not be criminalized for daring to seek relief using cannabis. - -- Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. [end]
A small victory for those fighting to legalize marijuana - a new survey suggests doctors are actually more supportive of the drug than the average consumer. According to the survey, 62 percent of doctors said medical marijuana can be helpful in treating certain medical issues while only 52 percent of consumers said the same. "It has a whole host of therapeutic indications. I mentioned cancer patients, i mentioned AIDS patients. It's useful for glaucoma. It has anti-inflammatory properties ... It's been used for hundreds of years for a variety of aliments." (Via CBS) According to HealthDay News, "Support for medical marijuana was highest among cancer specialists and blood disorder specialists. For those two groups, 82 percent said marijuana can provide real benefits to patients." Read more trending stories The WebMD survey looked at answers from more than 1,500 doctors and almost 3,000 consumers. However, don't count on the survey's findings having much bearing on whether states will actually legalize pot. The site explains that's because, "Solid data on marijuana's health benefits are lacking. Research has been limited because the federal government has designated marijuana as a 'Schedule I' substance, a designation used for the most dangerous drugs having 'no accepted medicinal use and a high potential for abuse.'" [continues 108 words]
When the 2014 General Assembly session began 10 short weeks ago, the odds of a medical cannabis bill passing this year would have been longer than having a perfect March Madness bracket in Vegas because no one was crazy enough to take that bet. But by the time the last day of the legislative session arrived, the issue of legalizing cannabidiol oil in Georgia to help children with seizure disorders had picked up such momentum and popularity that its passage seemed almost a certainty. But, despite the overwhelming support, the effort failed on the last night. Many people have asked me what in the heck happened. [continues 619 words]
PUEBLO WEST, Colo. - It's 9 a.m. on a weekday, and I'm at the Marisol Therapeutics pot shop. This is serious business. Security is tight. ID checks are frequent. Merchandise is strictly regulated, labeled, wrapped and controlled. The store is clean, bright and safe. The staffers are courteous and professional. Customers of all ages are here. There's a middle-aged woman at the counter nearby who could be your school librarian. On the opposite end of the dispensary, a slender young soldier in a wheelchair with close-cropped hair, dressed in his fatigues, consults with a clerk. There's a gregarious cowboy and an inquisitive pair of baby boomers looking at edibles. A dude in a hoodie walks in with his backpack. [continues 814 words]
On March 20, sick children, desperate parents and passionate advocates left the state Capitol disappointed. They received the unfortunate news that House Bill 885, more commonly known as the medicinal marijuana bill, failed to pass in the Senate because of a lack of compromise between the House and the Senate. HB 885 would have allowed patients suffering from glaucoma, cancer and seizures to have access to potentially life-saving forms of medicinal marijuana. If passed, the bill could have provided thousands with the medication that they need in order to live a life free of seizures, free of pain and free of suffering. Unfortunately for these individuals, Sen. Renee Unterman destined HB 885 for failure because of her own political agenda. [continues 491 words]
"Today's marijuana is 300 percent to 800 percent more potent than the pot of yesteryear." Heidi Heilman in an op-ed piece March 13 in The Providence (R.I.) Journal In the debate over whether marijuana should be legalized, one issue is the question of potency. Critics of legalization say the street drug now available for sale is not the marijuana that a lot of baby boomers and Generation Xers have used. One of them, Heidi Heilman, the director of New England field development for Smart Approaches to Marijuana and president of the Massachusetts Prevention Alliance, raised the issue March 13 in an op-ed in The Providence Journal in Rhode Island. [continues 742 words]
Among the casualties of a failed war on drugs that has spanned more than three decades are bloated prisons that cost the nation nearly $90 billion a year. With only 5 percent of the world's population, the United States holds 25 percent of its prisoners; more than 2 million people are locked up in this country. The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which sets penalty guidelines for federal judges, is considering changes that would shorten average sentences for nonviolent drug offenders by roughly one year - to 51 months from 63 months. That would result in a 17 percent sentence reduction for the average offender. [continues 336 words]
A former Newton County sheriff 's deputy who prosecutors said sold marijuana from his marked patrol vehicle while in uniform has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for possessing a firearm during a drug transaction. According to United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, Darrell Mathis sold various quantities of marijuana to a confidential source who was working with the FBI as well as to an undercover FBI agent from May to September 2013. Mathis, 41, of Lithonia, was arrested on Sept. 19 when he met with the undercover FBI agent while in possession of one pound of marijuana. He was convicted on Dec. 6 after entering a guilty plea. "Mathis abandoned his oath as a deputy sheriff, and chose the life of a drug dealer," Yates said. "His decision to violate the law also violated the trust the public places in law enforcement." [end]
When the 2014 General Assembly session began 10 short weeks ago, the odds of a medical cannabis bill passing this year would have been longer than having a perfect March Madness bracket in Vegas, because no one was crazy enough to take that bet. State Rep. Allen Peake with Hunter Klepinger. But by the last day of the legislative session, the issue of legalizing cannabidiol oil in Georgia to help children with seizure disorders had picked up such momentum and popularity that its passage seemed almost a certainty. [continues 627 words]
Finally, Georgia is No. 1. We have what must be the most NRA-friendly gun laws in the country. Combine this with a statutory rejection of the Affordable Care Act; requiring drug testing for SNAP recipients; and refusal to allow medical marijuana to comfort ill children, and our Legislature has really distinguished itself. But don't worry. Anyone seeing one of our Confederate license tags will understand that they have experienced time travel and landed squarely in the middle of the 19th century. Or they might figure this out from the condition of our crumbling roads and bridges, a consequence of the nation's lowest taxes. Way to go, Georgia. LLOYD E. FLEMING, DULUTH [end]
I am one of the many parents pushing for medical cannabis here in Georgia for our children with seizure disorders. Our 8-year-old daughter, Alaina, suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. We fought to educate the legislators and the public that this is indeed life-saving medicine, without the side effects of the many FDA-approved drugs our children are forced to take today. We never dreamed that we would succeed in that fight so quickly, and get a bill introduced this session, only to have it come crashing down due to political games played with our sick children. [continues 565 words]
During its journey through the General Assembly, a bill that would require drug testing for some applicants for food stamps and welfare generated controversy and drew fierce opposition from Democrats. Ultimately, though, House Bill 772 was approved on the final day of the legislative session, and has been sent to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature. It would require people applying for this government assistance to be tested if they raise "reasonable suspicion'' of illegal drug use. A recent email from a federal official, however, shows that at least the food stamp portion of the bill may run into problems. [continues 811 words]
In response to "Bill tying food stamps to drug tests goes to Deal" (News, March 21), one would wish Georgia legislators might one day have to rely on food stamps to feed their families. Fortunes come and go. I say to the legislators: Get closer to the people who may not have had the same advantages that you've had, and perhaps you will better understand the pride-smashing necessity of asking the state to help you pay for groceries. Adding drug tests as a requirement for receiving food stamps would violate the very freedoms this country stands for. Hopefully, Gov. Nathan Deal will not sign. Aren't there matters of education and health care to be studied and considered? It would seem the representatives in the General Assembly do not have enough real work to do. ELLEN HUNTER ULKEN, PEACHTREE CITY [end]
I was struck by the photo of state Rep. Rick Jasperse high-fiving another legislator subsequent to the passage of his gun bill on the last day of the session. The bill allows guns in churches. On his website, Jasperse describes himself as a Christian, like many in the General Assembly. I'm wondering if such elation was showed when bills were defeated allowing the use of medical marijuana for Georgia's sick children and requiring insurance companies to cover children with autism. Or when a bill was passed requiring drug testing for SNAP applicants, the poorest among us. [continues 56 words]
LaMarcus Wilkerson's story (Lesser of 3 evils, March 13, 2014) got an arrow-splitting bull's eye exposing cannabis (marijuana) prohibition. Another reason to end cannabis prohibition that doesn't get mentioned is that prohibition increases hard-drug addiction rates. Government claims heroin is no worse than cannabis and methamphetamine and that cocaine is less harmful by insisting cannabis is a Schedule I substance alongside heroin, while methamphetamine and cocaine are only Schedule II substances. How many citizens tried cannabis and realized it is not nearly as dangerous as claimed and believed other substances must not be either, only to find themselves addicted to hard drugs? Can the message from cannabis prohibitionists be any worse for vulnerable citizens? Truthfully, Stan White [end]
GEORGIANS love to kick Alabama around as a model of backward thinking, and not always good-naturedly either. They had best change their tone, at least regarding matters involving simple human concern for others. Perhaps it was to avoid embarrassment ( for Georgia), but it is somewhat amazing that little to no mention was made, either during the noisy medical marijuana debate in the recent General Assembly session or after the defeat of this measure to help seizure-plagued children wheeled before TV cameras almost daily during the argument, that the Alabama legislature had just done this very thing - the same week. [continues 922 words]
Written in response to the March 22 column by Ben Boychuk and Joel Mathis: Dear Editor of The Calhoun Times, sane or moral argument to continue cannabis prohibition (marijuana) doesn't exist (Weed Legalization Universal? Mar. 22, 2014). Another important reason to end cannabis prohibition that doesn't get is because it increases hard drug addiction rates. It puts citizen who choose to use the relatively safe plant into contact with people who often also sell hard drugs. Further, government claims heroin is no worse than cannabis and methamphetamine and cocaine is less harmful by insisting cannabis is a Schedule I substance alongside heroin, while methamphetamine and cocaine are only Schedule II substances. How many citizens tried cannabis and realized it is not nearly as dangerous as it claimed and believed other substances must not be either only to find themselves addicted to hard drugs? Can the message from cannabis prohibitionists be any worse for vulnerable citizens? Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
Written in response to the March 22 column by Ben Boychuk and Joel Mathis: Dear Editor, the people of Colorado and Washington state are way ahead of the politicians in Washington, D.C. The days when Congress can get away with confusing the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant are coming to an end. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The U.S. has almost double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands where marijuana is legal. [continues 116 words]
Athens-Clarke County Mayor Nancy Denson, who made headlines earlier this week by saying she supported decriminalization of possession and use of small quantities of marijuana, has issued a statement to clarify her position. During a Wednesday debate with local activist Tim Denson - no relation - who is challenging Mayor Denson in the upcoming May 20 nonpartisan mayoral election, the mayor revealed publicly for the first time her stance on decriminalization of marijuana, noting that possession of small quantities for personal shouldn't create a criminal record that follows someone for the rest of their life. [continues 202 words]
Failure of medical marijuana bill leaves Hall mother sad, determined Amendment derails cannabis oil plan despite both houses' backing In the expiring moments of the 2014 legislative session Thursday, Georgia lawmakers gleefully threw shredded paper in the air, a tradition signifying the end of business. In the upper gallery of the House, however, there was a much different show of raw emotion. Oakwood mother Sarah Caruso was one of several Georgia parents distraught after a law that would have allowed access to medical marijuana failed to be brought for a House vote. [continues 1098 words]
Local family suffers after medical marijuana caught in 'political crossfire' Five-month-old Kason Jiles of Lithia Springs has a medical file more than 600 pages thick and takes seven medications for a seizure disorder. Kason's dad Jonathan watched the final hours of the Georgia Legislature on Thursday night on his computer, frustrated that a bill that could have helped his son and had so much support fell just short. House Bill 885, which would have legalized cannabis oil, a nonsmokable derivative of marijuana, had overwhelming support in the House and Senate. But in the Legislature's final days, Sen. Renee Untermann (R-Buford) tried to attach a provision that would have expanded autism coverage. Untermann's attachment didn't fly in the House. [continues 841 words]
Public health advocates say addressing the fear of legal repercussions after dialing 911 will save overdose victims in a medical crisis after Georgia's "medical amnesty" bill passed the legislature Tuesday. "There was a lot of emotion in this bill because there's a lot of people who have been and are going to be affected by this situation," said Jeremy Sharp, a student at the University of North Georgia and founder of UNG's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. [continues 602 words]
First, 20 states and the District of Columbia passed laws legalizing marijuana for medical use. Then in 2012, voters in Washington state and Colorado approved measures legalizing the sale and possession of marijuana for non-medical use, with state oversight. Now at least a half-dozen states from Alaska to Maine are considering following suit. Marijuana still remains a federally controlled substance, but Attorney General Eric Holder in January said the U.S. Justice Department would soon issue regulations to let state sanctioned marijuana businesses have access to banking and credit. [continues 719 words]
The effort to legalize medical marijuana in Georgia appears dead for the year. Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, who championed the idea after lawmakers had already convened for the year and delivered it to the brink of final passage, acknowledged the end late Thursday of the legislative session's final day. His bill fell victim to time and the typical political webs that ensnare well-meaning legislation every year. Peake looked for any opportunity to get the bill passed. His last-ditch effort was to attach it to Senate Bill 291, which created a new agency for adult and aging services. [continues 191 words]
ATLANTA (AP) - With just hours remaining in Georgia's 2014 legislative session, sick patients and their caregivers were waiting to see if state lawmakers could compromise to create a program authorizing the medical use of a marijuana derivative. The Associated Press Georgia Rep. Sam Teasley, R-Marietta, looks over the Georgia State Capitol during a dinner break during the last day of the legislative session Thursday in Atlanta. By law, the General Assembly meets just 40 working days annually. Any legislation not approved by midnight Thursday automatically has failed for the year. [continues 347 words]
ATLANTA -- As the clock ticked through the final hours of the annual state legislative session, state Rep. Allen Peake launched a last-minute but ultimately unsuccessful plan to pass his medical marijuana bill. "For these families, their reality is ... a child who is going to have one hundred seizures tomorrow," said Peake, R-Macon, author of House Bill 885, which would have decriminalized possession of a liquid medicine derived from cannabis that's used to treat pediatric seizures. With just more than two hours remaining in this year's session, Peake had pinned his hopes on a maneuver that unhitched his bill from an unrelated issue of requiring insurance companies to cover pediatric autism treatment. [continues 204 words]
Macon Lawmaker Made Last-Ditch Appeal to Senate. The effort to legalize medical marijuana in Georgia is dead for the year. Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, who championed the idea after lawmakers had already convened for the year and delivered it to the brink of final passage, acknowledged the end late Thursday, the legislative session's final day. His bill fell victim to time and the typical political webs that ensnare well-meaning legislation every year. House Bill 885 was designed to allow Georgia families use of cannabis oil to treat certain seizure disorders in both children and adults, afflictions that can cause hundreds of seizures a day and often lead to death. The oil is harvested from the marijuana plant but does not create the high that recreational use of marijuana produces. [continues 223 words]
A new bill that would grant amnesty from certain drug charges for those who seek help in the event of a drug overdose is now awaiting Governor Nathan Deal's signature to be officially passed into law. The bill passed the Georgia House of Representatives again last night after the Senate approved it with a few amendments. The House approved the amendments and now the bill sits on Governor Deal's desk, awaiting it's passage into law. Tanya Smith, a Holly Springs Georgia police lieutenant and mother, said she has been an advocate for the bill ever since her 20-year-old daughter overdosed on heroin. [continues 389 words]
If the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives approve the medical marijuana bill the state would become a leader in the nation in health care. James Bell, founder of Georgia Campaign for Access, Reform and Education is one supporter of this belief. House Bill 885 would grant easier access for patients with glaucoma, epilepsy and cancer to receive cannabidiol oil, a derivative of medical marijuana. On March 3, "Crossover Day," the last possible day for a bill to be approved by either chamber, the Georgia House of Representatives passed House Bill 885 in a 171 person to four person vote, Bell said. The bill then went to a senate committee who debated and altered the bill, attaching autism to the list of patients allowed to receive medical cannabis. The senate will vote to approve the amended version and pass it along to the House for a vote on March 20. [continues 528 words]
When students drink and do drugs they normally have two fears: the fear of getting in trouble and the fear of someone getting hurt. And the former almost always trumps the latter with college students. The choice between the two has left too many dead in the past. But Georgia House Bill 965 - or the Georgia 911 Medical Amnesty Law - would grant amnesty from small drug charges to those who call for help in the case of drug overdoses. It overwhelmingly passed through the House and Senate and now awaits Gov. Nathan Deal. [continues 288 words]
Citizens rightly have contempt for cannabis (marijuana) prohibition, one of America's worst policy failures in history. Anyone who wants to use cannabis does. The concept of keeping sick citizens from using the plant in order to stop responsible adults from using cannabis, which is already easy to acquire, is mind-boggling. Politicians who support the continued suffering of sick citizens over this beneficial God-given plant should be replaced immediately before another citizen suffers due to their ignorance. - -- Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Inside Georgia
