Category Archives: Medical Marijuana

March 23, 2018 Radio Commentary

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H.B. 118 Offers Kids an Addiction

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, March 23, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Since next Tuesday and Thursday are the last two days of the session, several critical bills need your immediate attention. If the following four bills aren’t favorably reported out of the Rules Committee and onto the floor for a vote, they will die, along with many others.

H.B. 118, the Fantasy Contest Act of 2017 was carried into this session to create beginner gambling for kids. The bill requires “fantasy contest operators [to] develop fantasy contests that are limited to [18-year-old] beginners … and [prevent] non-beginner players from participating.” If this passes, and kids use their iPhones to gamble on Fantasy Sports, it would be almost impossible to deny access to kids under 18.

Two years ago, the Georgia Attorney General’s office notified the Lottery Commission that “fantasy sports constitutes illegal gambling and are not allowed under Georgia law.” Also, fantasy sports expert Arnie Wexler called daily Fantasy Sports online gambling, that can be as addictive as crack cocaine. The question is: How many legislators are willing to allow the lure of big bucks to expose teenagers to addictive behavior. H.B. 118 passed the House and is in the Senate Rules Committee. Continue reading →

February 2018 Newsletter

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OPPOSE the ERA, It has Dire National Consequences

The ERA does not mention women; it does not put women in the U.S. Constitution. The ERA puts the word “sex” in the U.S. Constitution.

H.R. 969, introduced in the Georgia General Assembly January 29, 2018, is an attempt by Democrats to ratify a federal Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Georgia. Almost 50 years after it was introduced in 1923, Congress passed ERA, a proposed constitutional amendment, in 1972. Since constitutional amendments must be ratified by three-fourths (38) of the 50 states, a seven-year time limit for ratification was attached to the proposal. At the end of seven years, only 35 states had ratified ERA, leaving them three states short of ratification. During a three-year time-limit extension, no other state ratified ERA and, thankfully, it failed.

ACTION – OPPOSE H.R. 969. Call House Judiciary Committee Representatives Willard, Ch., 404 656-5125; Fleming, V-Ch., 656-0152; Kelley, Sec., 657-1803; Beskin, 656-0254; Caldwell, 656-0152; Golick, 656-5943; Hanson, 656-0325; Powell, 656-5103; Rutledge, 656-0254; Welch, 656-5912; Nix 656-5146 (Ex officio). (These are the 9 Republicans on the 16-member committee.)

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March 31, 2017 Radio Commentary

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Switcheroo, Agreed, Done!

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, March 31, 2017 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

During the first two months of this session, five marijuana bills were introduced – four in the House and one in the Senate. It seemed strange that Senator Watson would introduce S.B. 16 to qualify one more condition for marijuana treatment and lower the THC level of medical marijuana from five- to three-percent, when five-percent passed last year. But, if he introduced S.B. 16 to meander through the process and become a vehicle for a more comprehensive bill that failed to pass by the end of Cross-Over Day, his strategy worked perfectly!

The Senate, dutifully, passed S.B. 16 on February 16th and it went to the House Judiciary Non Civil Committee, where it languished, awaiting the next step in the process. That committee stripped S.B. 16 of its original language and clothed it with Representative Peake’s much more comprehensive restructuring of current marijuana law.

During the switch, the House retained the expedient components of the original S.B. 16 – its all-important title (S.B. 16) and position (poised to pass), and autism, that was already among the six additional diseases Mr. Peake’s legislation was qualifying for marijuana treatment.

When the new law goes into effect July 1st, several requirements of current law will be repealed, as will the one-year Georgia residency now mandatory for marijuana treatment. Without that restriction, Georgia could become a hub for out-of-state drop-in buyers of medical marijuana. Continue reading →

February 3, 2017 Radio Commentary

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3 New Marijuana Bills

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, February 3, 2017 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Last year, Representative Allen Peake promised he’d be back this year to expand the marijuana law, and that’s what he’s doing. His H.B. 65 deletes restrictions lawmakers put on marijuana when his first bill passed. For example: H.B. 65 removes the one-year Georgia residency requirement for a THC patient to register for treatment with marijuana. Without that restriction, Georgia could be flooded with out-of-state drop-in buyers of medical marijuana.

In addition to that, Mr. Peake’s bill deletes several important reports – the required quarterly physicians’ report on dosages recommended for certain conditions, clinical responses from the treatment, as well as reports on compliance, side effects and drug interactions. Then, H.B. 65 adds seven more to the list of conditions qualifying for THC treatment – Tourette’s syndrome, autism, intractable pain, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, HIV and AIDS. But I want to focus on HIV/AIDS because of a law that passed last year, allowing minors, of any age, to be treated for HIV and AIDS without parental knowledge or consent.

Making HIV and AIDS eligible for treatment with cannabis (marijuana) oil reminded me that minor children, who already receive confidential treatment for conditions related to sexual activity, including abortion, could be treated with marijuana oil for HIV and AIDS, without parental notification. Until the law was changed last year, the law mandated that parents be notified if their minor child was diagnosed with HIV or AIDS! Continue reading →