It took only a simple phrase to see how Mary Louise Swing's life would improve from cannabidiol.

On vacation with family in Myrtle Beach last weekend, Mary Louise stunned her mother, Jill, and a roomful of relatives with a simple "Hi everybody" as she got out of bed.

For 6-year-old Mary Louise, who suffers from intractable epilepsy, it was a small, uplifting first step.

"She just doesn't say that," Jill Swing said. "It's been delightful. She was nonverbal, but she's saying more words now. She's a chatterbox."

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COLUMBIA - A bill that would allow for patients who have severe epilepsy to be treated with a type of medical marijuana is headed for a final vote in the General Assembly next week, where it's expected to pass.

The bill, H. 4803, has already moved through the S.C. House and its passage in the S.C. Senate is expected next week after a key Senate committee moved it unanimously on Thursday.

The bill provides for the potential use of cannabidiol oil (CBD), which contains marijuana extract but little THC, the chemical that produces a "high." The drug has offered hope to many who have difficult-to-treat epileptic symptoms, although clinical trials and extensive medical research is in early stages.

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South Carolina superintendent of education candidate Sheila Gallagher called for legalizing marijuana when she addressed Democrats at the South Carolina Democratic Party convention in Columbia on Saturday afternoon.

Gallagher, of Florence, said legalizing marijuana should be put to a vote and the revenue that would be gained could go toward investing in the state's education system.

"It isn't about getting high," Gallagher said.

The revenue that could be obtained from legalizing marijuana could be used to invest millions of dollars into the education system until S.C. has the best schools in the nation, she said.

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In 2010, Congress acted to reduce the disparity in mandatory minimum standards used to sentence criminals, particularly in regard to drug offenders. Last week, President Barack Obama announced that the Justice Department would take the next logical step - rescuing some of the thousands of inmates still serving time under the old, unfair sentencing rules.

The president intends to canvass the entire federal prison population - - now numbering about 216,000 - to find inmates who are languishing behind bars under the unjustly harsh sentencing laws established during the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s. While the clemency program will not specifically target the roughly 7,000 inmates serving time for crack-related crimes, the guidelines for granting clemency would cover most of them.

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Columbia, SC - It is good news that legislators are considering a law to allow doctor-prescribed use of marijuana. More than 20 states that have approved its use for nausea. The primary reason, as I understand it, is that most pain medication has after-effects of severe nausea.

I am prescribed several medications to eliminate the pain I experience due to neuropathy; however, they cause extreme nausea. I certainly would appreciate being able to use medical marijuana to relieve severe nausea, as I am sure many others would be.

I believe that legislators will find more and more states approving marijuana for the treatment of nausea.

Ronald B. Bolton

Aiken

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Never mind that Roger Goodell didn't officially open the door to medical marijuana use within a National Football League beset with concussion controversy. The drive-by mention by the NFL commissioner at the Super Bowl struck a chord. Pro football players, agents and media types continue to chime in, most without scientific input.

Before this goes too far - indeed before the notion of pot as concussion treatment trickles into a serious college football discussion - it might be beneficial to seek actual medical facts.

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Columbia - With little debate but many qualifications, a state Senate panel Thursday advanced a bill to allow the cultivation of hemp in South Carolina.

That's industrial hemp, not marijuana.

The distinction is why qualifications came with nearly every statement in the Senate agriculture subcommittee meeting.

"This has nothing to do with legalizing marijuana," was the opening statement of subcommittee chairman Sen. Yancey McGill, D-Williamsburg.

The bill, S.839, makes the difference clear.

Industrial hemp is genetically different from the hemp plants that produce the quality of tetrahydrocannabinol that gives marijuana its mind-altering properties. The S.C. legislation also would remove industrial hemp from the state's current definition of marijuana.

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Where does the Herald-Journal get these columnists, such as Kathleen Parker (Jan. 22 edition), who advocated legalizing marijuana? She describes forming this opinion through maturity and experience. She rightly says that alcohol or any drugs are bad for children. Then why are drugs OK for adults? The truth is that they are harmful to adults as well.

One of the arguments made against the drug war is that it is ruining young lives by giving them criminal records. Our law enforcement officers are not giving our young people criminal records. They are doing this to themselves.

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