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If signed, the law would allow patients to possess up to 32 ounces of CBD-infused oils at a time. The law does not allow Iowans to grow their own supply, however, which forces Iowa patients to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars to go out of state every six months or so for a new supply.
The bill hits home for West Des Moines Mayor Steve Gaer, who has watched his daughter Margaret suffer from repeated, chronic seizures that have not responded to traditional medicine.
“Get choked a bit because you want the best for your kids, and when you’ve tried everything and you think this may be the best, the only solution left, you know. It’s pretty humbling to think that maybe you’ve found something that might help your children,” Gaer told KCCI news.
As we wrote in the original report below, the bill had a slim chance of passing as of yesterday afternoon and it seemed like the state House was bent on making it too difficult to pass by requiring the Senate to vote a second time on the bill.
No word on if the governor will sign the bill, though from our position this seems like a complete no-brainer for the man.
Original story, 4/30/2014: Lawmakers in Iowa Tuesday gave initial approval to a bill that would decriminalize cannabidiol (CBD) oil for patients with chronic seizure disorders and epilepsy. The state House Public Safety Committee approved the measure 13-5, moving it on to the full House for consideration, possibly as early as today – not that it will make much of a difference.
While the bill should be a no-brainer for lawmakers, they still are dragging their feet. Before the panel approved the bill it tacked on three amendments, including one requirement that the bill has to go back to the state Senate for approval even though the Senate has already given the bill the okay earlier this year. That all but kills the bill, as the legislature is already several days past their planned adjournment and lawmakers are looking to wrap things up soon.
Despite hearing testimony from state Rep. John Forbes, a pharmacist by trade, the committee still balked at the chance to speed things up. “That’s our main goal for these children and people, is to increase their quality of life, so they can spend quality time with their families and be able to hopefully live a more normal life,” Forbes told the committee.
Under the proposal, patients and caregivers would have to have the recommendation of a neurologist as well as a state-issued ID card before they could access the non-psychoactive oils and edibles. Not only that, but the plan wouldn’t even allow patients to grow their own cannabis to produce the oil – patients would have to purchase it out-of-state and then transport it back themselves.
Even then, patients would only be allowed to keep a 32-ounce limit – about six month’s worth of medicine.
The bill is likely not going to see much action before the legislature adjourns, however. Patients will just have to wait another year for their elected officials to get their shit together.