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]
Sharp distinctions were drawn Wednesday night between the two candidates in the nonpartisan race for mayor of Athens-Clarke County, but a debate sponsored by the Young Democrats of UGA also revealed a point of near-agreement between incumbent Nancy Denson and her challenger - no relation - local activist Tim Denson. The mayor used Wednesday's debate on the UGA campus, in front of dozens of students, a handful of Athens residents and a couple of commission candidates, to announce for the first time that she favors the decriminalization of possession and use of small amounts of marijuana. [continues 557 words]
An open letter to state Rep. Sharon Cooper: As a parent pushing for life-saving medical cannabis here in Georgia for my daughter who suffers from severe seizures and developmental delays, I had hoped as an elected official, you would not resort to outright lies to push your agenda ("Research needed, complexity abounds," Opinion, Feb. 14), especially at the expense of sick children. Your op-ed painted a picture that we are seeking unresearched, untested, dangerous medicine for our children, and nothing could be further from the truth. The medicine we seek is already doctor-approved, lab-tested and safer than then numerous FDA-approved drugs our children take today. I also can't understand why you would do this about a bill (House Bill 885) that you have voted in favor of twice now. Please correct your facts the next time you speak publicly and try to use scare tactics to prevent our children from getting life-saving medicine. BLAINE CLOUD, SMYRNA [end]
ATLANTA - A Georgia Senate panel this week unanimously approved a newly-revised bill that would legalize marijuana derivatives in Georgia for treatment of patients with cancer, glaucoma and seizure disorders. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee amended House Bill 885, the original House version of the medical marijuana bill, to make it easier for Georgians to gain access to cannabidiol oil, a non-psychoactive derivative of marijuana. The major change would grant immunity from prosecution in Georgia for possession of CBD oil obtained legally in a state that permits the use of medical marijuana. [continues 664 words]
ATLANTA -- A state Senate panel unanimously approved possession in Georgia of a single type of medicine derived from cannabis, with the state's prosecutors signed onto a plan that violates federal law. The measure offers "protection from prosecution for possession of cannabidiol oil" used for seizure treatment, said state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, who made the edit on his own House Bill 885 in front of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday afternoon. The oil is made from a strain of marijuana that is low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that delivers the plant's high. The plant is rich in cannabidiol, which is non-hallucinogenic and which relieves severe seizures in some afflicted children. [continues 590 words]
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 443,000 people die from tobacco each year; 8.6 million live with a life-threatening illness, and approximately 46.6 million Americans continue to use the drug. Like tobacco, alcohol is abused by numerous Americans. Over 80,000 deaths are caused by excessive drinking yearly in the U.S. However, both tobacco and alcohol are legal and sold at a store nearby. Two of the top three killers in America are sold at grocery stores and gas stations. [continues 283 words]
A drug that counteracts overdoses on opioid drugs such as heroine, OxyContin and morphine is now available to the public for free. The drug is called Naloxone, and it isn't a new drug; patients in ambulances and emergency rooms get this antidotal drug when it is required. Though this drug sounds amazing, many have voiced concerns that it doesn't help drug users get clean and instead makes them take higher doses of drugs because they don't have to worry about fatal overdoses. [continues 176 words]
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." That old adage certainly fits a scenario playing out in the Georgia General Assembly. House Bill 885 or "Haleigh's Hope Act" - better known around the Gold Dome as the medical marijuana bill - began as a tightly drawn bill to provide children with intractable seizures access to an oil derived from a specific marijuana strain available only in Colorado. This little-known product is "manufactured" by a group of marijuana-growing siblings - not physicians or scientists. It gained national notoriety thanks to the CNN special "Weed" and anecdotal reports by families of their children's seemingly miraculous cures. As we studied this bill, we found that this oil hasn't been tested for purity or consistency, and it hasn't been tested in animals. [continues 517 words]
I am 17 years old, and I suffer from severe Crohn's Disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. I have struggled with this disease for two years now, and spent my Christmas vacation at Scottish Rite in Atlanta full of IVs, being fed through a catheter run under my bicep into my chest cavity, in agonizing pain, losing blood, and on the verge of needing a total removal of my colon. I dropped from 170 pounds to 135, all on a 6-foot 2-inch frame. [continues 649 words]
Legislators may pass the Haleigh's Hope Act before the session ends next week, improving access to a form of medical marijuana for children like her who suffer from seizure disorders. But Haleigh won't be in Georgia for the occasion. "Haleigh quit breathing six times last night, so we don't have time anymore," her mother, Janea Cox, told me Wednesday. Mother and daughter left Thursday for Colorado, which already has legalized the cannabis oil that has helped other children reduce the number of debilitating seizures they suffer from as many as hundreds every day to as few as one every few months. [continues 614 words]
ATLANTA -- The federal barriers between Georgians and an epilepsy medicine made from cannabis are so insurmountable that the Macon representative who is championing the cause plans to propose licensing nonprofit dispensaries in Georgia. "I'm going to provide that as an option to include in our next draft of the bill," said state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, if a Senate committee hears his House Bill 885 by a key legislative deadline Wednesday. Peake won nearly universal House support for his original bill, which said that Georgia's medical research universities could grow a type of cannabis that's high in cannabidiol, or CBD, and make liquid epilepsy medicine from it. Such CBD-rich liquids are nonhallucinogenic and are already used in Britain and Colorado to treat children who have intractable, severe epilepsy disorders. [continues 215 words]
Georgia Children With Severe Seizure Disorder Are Closer to Treatment. The Georgia House on Monday gave overwhelming approval to a bill that would legalize a type of medical marijuana to treat certain seizure disorders. Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, the sponsor of House Bill 885, said it's an important step toward saving the lives of children who can suffer 100 or more seizures a day. The particular strain of marijuana, known as Charlotte's Web, has shown it can ease or eliminate symptoms of patients taking the cannabis oil derived from the plant. [continues 435 words]
ATLANTA (AP) - Patients diagnosed with certain illnesses could take a form of medical marijuana under a plan that Georgia's state legislators backed Monday ahead of an important deadline that sorts out which bills go forward and which will likely fail for the year. Legislative rules force Georgia's state lawmakers to get their bills approved by at least one chamber of the General Assembly by what's commonly called "Crossover Day," or else those bills are unlikely to get to the governor's desk. That rule can be bent, but it is difficult. [continues 496 words]
There's no doubt that Georgia's law enforcement officials dislike strings that restrict civil asset forfeiture, which is the power of law enforcement to seize and keep property suspected of being involved in criminal activity. They've told state legislators that, time and again. For the rest of Georgia, however, it's a problem. Unlike with criminal asset forfeiture, under civil forfeiture the owner of the property being seized does not have to be charged with a crime. Cash, cars, homes and other property can be taken without even filing charges, let alone convicting the property's owner of a crime. [continues 598 words]
Never in her life did Corey Lowe think her native Georgia would even consider allowing medical marijuana, but now she's hopeful that lawmakers have heard her pleas for a chance to help her improve her child's life with the drug. The Holly Springs resident said she was ecstatic Wednesday after a bill allowing non-psychoactive cannabis oil to treat seizure patients got unanimous approval in a state House committee and moved one step closer to a vote on the floor. [continues 486 words]
Medical marijuana bill offers hope but research requires much time The medical marijuana bill approved by a state legislative committee is titled Haleigh's Hope Act, named for Haleigh Cox, a young girl with a condition that causes severe seizures. "It's hope. That's all it is. Hope. That's what we're fighting for," said Corey Lowe, whose daughter Victoria, 12, suffers from mitochondrial disease that could wrack her body with up to 100 seizures a day if not controlled. [continues 444 words]
ATLANTA - Tanya Smith, a Georgia police officer who oversees criminal investigations, is no stranger to battling the perils of drug abuse. Yet Smith's current fight is personal, in memory of her 20-year-old daughter, Taylor, who died last year while using drugs after no one called 911 for help. Smith is among a group of parents lobbying on behalf of a bill that would grant amnesty from certain drug charges for those who seek help in the event of a drug overdose. Seventeen states have passed similar so-called "Good Samaritan laws," and proposals are pending this year in others including Georgia and West Virginia. [continues 596 words]
After purchasing an Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper on Feb. 21, I read the opinion piece by sportswriter Jeff Schultz, "UGA's policy gets it right." Schultz was referring to the UGA athletic drug policy following the recent dismissal of a key defensive football player. His factual observations, negative feedback from football fans and comparisons with other university drug policies hit the nail on the head when distinguishing between winning at any cost versus the lives of young athletes. Within this sports column, UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity acknowledged that other SEC athletic directors had preliminary discussions about a conference-wide policy last year. McGarity further stated, "the issue got no traction with presidents." [continues 434 words]
Local Legislators See Their Sponsored Bills Make It Over the Crossover Day Hump As Well. (AP) - Patients diagnosed with certain illnesses could take a form of medical marijuana under a plan that Georgia's state legislators backed Monday, ahead of an important deadline that sorts out which bills go forward and which will likely fail for the year. Legislative rules force lawmakers to get their bills approved by at least one chamber of the General Assembly by what's commonly called "Crossover Day." The rule can be bent, but it's difficult. [continues 677 words]
A bill before the state Legislature that would legalize one form of medical marijuana for one group of patients passed an important hurdle on Wednesday. But not without undergoing some changes. The House Health and Human Services Committee approved a bill by Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, that would allow a type of cannabis oil to be prescribed for severe seizure disorders. Parents of children with those disorders as well as physicians report dramatic improvements when the children have been treated with cannabis oil. [continues 427 words]
The Bill Would Allow for Further Research into Treating Seizure Disorders. Personal stories of frustration and lengthy deliberation led a state House committee to unanimously approve a bill that would permit medical marijuana to be grown and used in Georgia for treatment of severe seizure disorders. Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, sits on the Health and Human Services Committee, which reviewed the legislation. She said House Bill 885 provides a way to assist those who suffer from these complications - under tightly controlled restrictions. [continues 434 words]
Gainesville will implement a zero-tolerance drug-testing policy beginning Saturday for public safety workers, with termination of employment the penalty for a single failed test. But substance abuse specialists have concerns about how effective the policy will be in curbing drug addiction and whether firing workers will only lead to further abuse. The city currently administers random drug tests for transit workers and other jobs that require a commercial driver's license. The new policy would be extended to include testing of police officers, firefighters, plant and equipment operators, lifeguards and other employees who operate city vehicles. [continues 1012 words]
GEORGIA LAWMAKERS haven't done much of anything this legislative session, which is not a bad thing. Here's one humane measure, however, that deserves passage - a law that would allow limited use of medical marijuana to treat young Georgians suffering from horrific bouts of seizures. First off, this isn't about legalizing pot. The bill that's pending in the Georgia House won't make weed more available so stoners can fire up a joint and achieve a Rocky Mountain-type high, which is the case in Colorado. [continues 447 words]
ATLANTA - A bill to allow a type of medical marijuana in Georgia under certain circumstances passed a key committee vote Wednesday, keeping it alive as a major legislative deadline looms. Sponsored by Republican Rep. Allen Peake of Macon, House Bill 885 would revive a long-dormant research program allowing academic institutions to distribute marijuana to patients suffering from specific medical conditions. The House Health and Human Services Committee passed the bill by a voice vote during Wednesday's meeting, prompting hugs and tears from families in the audience whose children suffer from medical conditions that can cause multiple daily seizures. The families believe, based on anecdotal evidence seen elsewhere, that a form of cannabis oil could reduce the seizures and improve their children's quality of life and have been lobbying lawmakers to support the effort. [continues 524 words]
ATLANTA -- A bill that would legalize access to a cannabis-derived medicine in Georgia passed its first vote Wednesday, with a new provision for sourcing the illegal plant: in-state cannabis cultivation. It passed via unanimous voice vote in the House Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday night. "We've tried to address the access problem that we clearly have by providing a cultivation option" at Georgia's five medical research universities, state Rep. Allen Peake, sponsor of House Bill 885, said of his hours-old edits. [continues 394 words]
ATLANTA (AP) - A bill to allow a type of medical marijuana in Georgia under certain circumstances passed a key committee vote Wednesday, keeping it alive as a major legislative deadline looms. Sponsored by Republican Rep. Allen Peake, of Macon, House Bill 885 would revive a long-dormant research program allowing academic institutions to distribute marijuana to patients suffering from specific medical conditions. The House Health and Human Services Committee passed the bill by a voice vote during Wednesday's meeting, prompting hugs and tears from families in the audience whose children suffer from medical conditions that can cause multiple daily seizures. The families believe, based on anecdotal evidence seen elsewhere, that a form of cannabis oil could reduce the seizures and improve their children's quality of life and have been lobbying lawmakers to support the effort. [continues 401 words]
It's all we hear: Let's legalize marijuana. What harm can it do? Marijuana legalization proponents are tugging on our heartstrings by highlighting how critical medical marijuana is for certain individuals. This seems like a new argument, but it's not. Since the 1970s, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has been supporting medical marijuana laws as the best strategy to achieve overall legalization of the drug. Their ploy has worked. Public support for legalization has increased. But there is more to the story than this. Don't be fooled by social media posts that discard concerns about the drug. These very vocal proponents of legalization are sharing their opinions, not facts. [continues 401 words]
ATLANTA -- The hourglass is emptying fast for a medical marijuana bill that is not scheduled for a vote before a key deadline. Meanwhile, though, another idea for medicine made with compounds found in marijuana might move faster than Georgia law. House Bill 885 by state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, would legalize doctor-supervised use of a cannabis-derived liquid medicine for severe seizures. It's had one hearing before the House Health and Human Services Committee, but no vote had been scheduled as of late Monday afternoon. [continues 522 words]
Ayers' husband was killed by deputy during 2009 drug sting A widowed Hall County woman has been awarded more than $2 million by a federal jury in a wrongful death suit. Jurors on Thursday deemed $2.3 million in damages and expenses to Abigail Marilyn Ayers, wife of Jonathan Ayers, a Northeast Georgia pastor who was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy in September 2009. The trial began last week at the Federal Court in Gainesville. In causing Ayers' death, the defendant, Billy Shane Harrison, "intentionally committed acts that violated Jonathan Ayers' constitutional right not to be subjected to excessive or unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer," the jury determined by its verdict, according to court records. [continues 243 words]
ACWORTH - One year after she buried her 23-year-old daughter, Teresa Turner is ready to share her family's story. Blonde, outgoing and an accomplished athlete and student, Elizabeth Turner died from a heroin overdose Feb. 11, 2013, after years of struggling with a drug addiction. Three weeks ago, her family started a website to spread the word about Elizabeth's death and resources for families dealing with drug addictions. As of Tuesday, more than 1 million people had visited the site and added their personal addiction stories. [continues 1200 words]
Inside Georgia
