This week in Raleigh, North Carolina, the House passed Bill 766, which would make it easier for neurologists to prescribe cannabidiol (CBD) oil. A bill passed last year was designed to allow for wider use of the CBD oil, but many families say they still face obstacles because its use was supposed to be linked to academic studies. This year’s measure would allow for a less convoluted path for doctors to prescribe the treatment.

As this bill is headed to Gov. Pat McCrory for his signature, it is yet another important point in this trend gaining momentum. All across the nation, legislators have been waking up to the fact that CBD has therapeutic benefits and are being urged by their constituents to provide much needed access.  […]

According to the Epilepsy Foundation of Texas, an organization dedicated to finding a cure and overcome the challenges created by epilepsy, epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder after stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. It affects three million Americans of all ages and approximately 200,000 new cases of seizures and epilepsy occur each year. In Read more about Legislative Focus On CBD And Epilepsy[…]

The debate for the legalization and necessity of medical marijuana continues across the nation. In the last few weeks alone, the Missouri House of Representatives voted unanimously to move forward a bill that would broaden the legalization of marijuana used for approved medical purposes within the state of Missouri. Lawmakers in Tennessee also unanimously passed a bill this past Monday allowing the limited use of cannabis by medical patients suffering from seizures. The law, headed to the governor’s desk for signing, would allow someone diagnosed with epilepsy or other types of seizures to use cannabis oil, including children suffering from infantile spasms.

Philadelphia also recently hosted a congressional hearing regarding a medical marijuana bill for Pennsylvania legislature. In the hearing, physicians stated they believe that more research needed to be conducted on the benefits and potential risks of medical marijuana before the state legislators legalize medical uses of cannabis. […]

There are currently five marijuana legalization efforts underway in the state of Ohio alone; four by ballot measure to amend the state’s constitution and one as proposed legislation in the House of Representatives. In Idaho, the Senate has recently approved a bill that eases the way for use of medical cannabis oil by seizure patients. This bill is currently before the House. In the United States alone, calls for reform to laws prohibiting marijuana any under circumstances have been sweeping city governments.

The reason for this movement, it seems, is clear for anyone following recent developments in this area. Just look at Addyson Benton of Ohio, who was diagnosed with myoclonic epilepsy at nine months old and has up to 1,000 seizures a day.

Her family has decided to move 1,200 miles to Colorado in hopes of getting treatment in the form of medical marijuana. And though she’s tried at least ten anti-seizure drugs, nothing seems to reduce her symptoms. Her parents, Heather and Adam Benton, researched a form of non-psychoactive medical marijuana, known as cannabidiol, and decided it’s in Addyson’s best interest to give the drug a try.

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As the debate continues over medical marijuana around the country, yet another state senator has filed legislation in favor of legalizing marijuana. Sen. Curt Thompson (D-Tucker) filed the bill, along with a constitutional amendment, that would legalize marijuana for recreational use in Georgia. This would also allow retailers to sell no more than 2 ounces of marijuana Read more about The Fight For Medical Marijuana Continues[…]

This week in Richmond, Virginia, parents joined together hopeful for a positive outcome for their epileptic children. Virginia’s House of Delegates voted on a long-shot medical marijuana bill that would help families suffering from severe forms of epilepsy access CBD oil.

The votes came in 98 to 0 support for this bill, with the only two delegates opposing the bill choosing to abstain rather than vote against it.

The overwhelming passage stunned Elder and other parents who never expected to succeed in Richmond’s highly conservative lower chamber on their first try. The vote might be seen as a turning point for Virginia, which has staunchly opposed loosening marijuana laws as neighboring Maryland and the District of Columbia have eased theirs.

Similar bills have begun sweeping through legislatures, surprisingly in many of the more conservative states, after an August 2013 CNN documentary “Weed” that showed the plight of a family seeking the oil for their daughter’s seizures, said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. About a dozen states have passed laws allowing use of cbd oil in the past 18 months, including Alabama, Utah, and Mississippi.

In Oklahoma, State lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that would allow children with epilepsy to use cannabis oil that contains less than 0.3% THC. […]

As another week passes in the push for access to cannabidiol, yet another study is published on its therapeutic worth. In the latest fall issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists at the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) found that components of marijuana, primarily cannabidiol, may be useful in reducing depression that results from chronic stress.

In the animal models we studied, we saw that chronic stress reduced the production of endocannabinoids, leading to depression-like behavior,” RIA senior research scientist Samir Haj-Dahmane said in a statement.

Endocannabinoids are naturally produced chemical compounds in the brain that affect motor control, cognition, emotions, and behavior. As the name suggests, they are similar to the chemicals found in marijuana (Cannabis sativa) and its active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

“Chronic stress is one of the major causes of depression,” Haj-Dahmane said. “Using compounds derived from cannabis — marijuana — to restore normal endocannabinoid function could potentially help stabilize moods and ease depression.”
The next step in the research is to see if using a marijuana extract, cannabidiol (CBD), restores normal behaviors in the animals without leading to dependence on the drug.

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The recently introduced “Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015” has found support on both sides of the political aisle in the United States. This Act would effectively remove federal restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp, the non-drug oil, seed, and fiber varieties of Cannabis. This would be a huge benefit to families in the US who are looking for CBD sourced from hemp.

The House bill, introduced on Wednesday, January 21, by U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.), would require the federal government to defer to state laws that allow farmers to grow the crop.

“The federal ban on hemp has been a waste of taxpayer dollars that ignores science, suppresses innovation, and subverts the will of states that have chosen to incorporate this versatile crop into their economies,” Polis, said in a statement. “I am hopeful that Congress will build on last year’s progress on hemp research and pilot programs by passing the Industrial Hemp Farming Act to allow this historical American crop to once again thrive on our farmlands.”

The Senate also has developed its own version of the bill, which was introduced on January 8, 2015, by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

But the bill has received mixed reviews from advocates.

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The Iowa Legislature passed, and Gov. Terry Branstad signed, a bill permitting individuals with intractable epilepsy and their caregivers legal use and possession of cannabidiol.

On Monday, Iowans suffering from chronic epilepsy were able to apply for a medical cannabidiol registration card. These cards provide documentation that patients and primary caregivers have met the requirements of the Medical Cannabidiol Act and are authorized to legally possess medically necessary cannabidiol.

The Iowa Department of Public Health worked with the Iowa Department of Transportation to put together a process to approve and generate cannabidiol registration cards and developed an application form now available on the Iowa Department of Public Health’s website.

The law allows only for the oil’s usage and does not permit the product to be produced in Iowa, which advocates told The Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau in November can cause a problem because similar programs in other states do not recognize out-of-state patients.

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Lawmakers in Virginia are joining the growing movement to address the state’s outdated marijuana laws. Sen. Adam Ebbin, an Alexandria Democrat, has introduced a bill that would eliminate jail time for possession of marijuana and make it punishable by a maximum $100 civil penalty. At an emotional committee hearing Thursday, four mothers of epileptic children Read more about A Call To Action For Marijuana Reform In January[…]