One of the popular trends in more conservative states in the past two years has been to pass a CBD-only medical marijuana law – which gives a very limited number of patients the chance to legally possess CBD oil with extremely low amounts of THC. The problem with many of these laws, especially one in Georgia, is the fact that they offer no legal way for these registered patients to obtain the CBD oil in the first place.
Attempts to expand these laws are often met with lots of opposition and, in most cases, end without any changes – or at least no significant changes – being made at all. In Florida, John Morgan, who is running the United for Care “Yes on 2” Campaign, has called these laws a diversion of sorts, so that they can claim they are doing something for the patients, without having to approval a full medical marijuana program.
There are a few major problems with CBD only laws – the biggest of them all is that it simply doesn’t offer relief to enough people. Almost all of these laws actually revolve around epilepsy and seizure conditions, though Georgia’s law actually includes ALS, MS, mitochondrial disease and Parkinson’s as well. Unfortunately, this still leaves several conditions off of the list and it leaves patients in need of higher doses of THC out of the picture as well.
It’s well known that THC can be used medicinally to help chemotherapy patients, those suffering from PTSD, and anyone dealing with chronic pain. There are also newer studies and stories of patients with Crohn’s disease and autism who also find relief through high THC strains of marijuana. These CBD only laws only offer relief to a very small part of the population who is asking for their help – they want access to medicine that works without becoming criminals in the process.
The big problem with the way most of the CBD laws are set up is the fact that they don’t offer a clear legal way for patients to obtain the CBD oil. Most patients have to drive to another state where it is legal and bringing it back into their state or risk having it shipped through the mail. Both are illegal under federal law, backing even the patients they are “trying to help” into a corner where they have to choose between risking criminal charges and going without much needed medicine.
After finding out that the Georgia government wasn’t ever planning to approve the expansion to the bill in the first place, patients seem to finally have had enough. A number of patients, led by a very passionate mother of a daughter with autism, have been performing acts of civil disobedience in order to show the government that this isn’t something they can ignore any longer.
The patients have been reporting themselves to local authorities, explaining that they use marijuana oil with a higher than legal THC limit and then continued by explaining the reason they do so. For some, like Jennifer Conforti (the mother leading this movement) it means her daughter having a better quality of life. “We’re not lawbreakers and this shouldn’t even be an issue,” said Jennifer Conforti.
Here’s to hoping that these patients coming forward and making it known that they will medicate themselves and their loved ones as necessary, regardless of whether or not it makes them a criminal, will be enough to convince Georgia (and other states) lawmakers to expand on their CBD only laws. Lawmakers tend to fear that medical marijuana programs are either a front for full legalization or will lead to it – but it’s really about the patients who just want to be able to live their lives as comfortably as possible.
Aritelcs like this make life so much simpler.