State GOP lawmaker weeds out the nuances of cannibas oil and pot | www.myajc.com

State lawmakers have a month before they get back to work in the 2015 legislative session and already the debate over medical marijuana has gotten into the, ahem, weeds.

State Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon serves as co-chair of a joint legislative committee that has studied whether and how to legalize the drug for certain conditions, including seizures in children.

Peake has revived a bill aimed at allowing cannabis oil made from marijuana plants for treatment of certain seizure disorders and other health problems. He is finalizing that proposal, pre-filed as House Bill 1 after a similar measure fell short last session.

But another committee member, state Sen. Curt Thompson, D-Tucker, is proposing a competing bill that would allow vaporized, edible or smokable marijuana. Thompson has filed a resolution, calling for a statewide referendum on whether to authorize recreational use of the drug.

Confusion about the oil form versus a smokeable drug has prompted Peake, who said he does not support expanded use, to speak out.

“We believe that the medical cannabis oil – very low in THC, that doesn’t have a psychoactive component to it, cannot get you high – is a better approach for our citizens,” Peake said in a press conference before a committee meeting last week.

Opponents of the oil have raised safety concerns. So PolitiFact Georgia decided to take a closer look at Peake’s contention that the oil extracted from marijuana won’t get users high.

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