Tag: CBD oil

House approves limited medical marijuana proposal

The Missouri House has voted to allow those suffering from terminal and debilitating conditions to use medical marijuana.  The proposal now goes to the state Senate for consideration.

Representative Jim Neely sponsored HB 1554, a medical marijuana proposal, that the House sent to the Senate on May 1, 2018. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications – click for larger version)

House Bill 1554 would expand on a law passed in 2014 that allows the use of a cannabis extract, cannabidiol (CBD) oil, to treat intractable epilepsy.  If HB 1554 became law, a patient suffering from conditions including cancer, HIV, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and post-traumatic stress disorder could use medical marijuana if a doctor signs a statement saying he or she could benefit from its use and that all options approved by the Food and Drug Administration have been considered.

The House voted 112-44 to send that bill to the Senate, but some Republicans spoke against IT even though it is sponsored by one of their fellows.

Pacific Republican Kirk Mathews said the legislative process is not the proper way for a drug to be approved.

“I don’t know of any other medicines that become medicine by an act of the legislature versus the process that we’ve gone through for years in the history of our country and medicine in our country, with FDA clinical trials, double-blind studies, etcetera, etcetera,” said Mathews.

He also argued that the bill is too broad in what conditions it would allow medical marijuana to be used for, because it would allow the Department of Health and Senior Services to add conditions to that list if at least ten physicians sign a petition calling for it to be added.

“We don’t know what conditions we are allowing this to be used for if we pass this bill,” said Mathews.

Representative J. Eggleston (R-Maysville) said passing HB 1554 would send Missouri down a similar path to that the nation has taken with opioids.  Those are now seen as the crux of a health crisis, but they started off as a way to treat pain.

Representative Kirk Mathews (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications – click for larger version)

“Surely the companies behind them would only care about relieving others’ pain and doctors would only prescribe for that reason, and the recipients would only use them for that reason and not use them for that reason and not use them for recreational fashion, and surely it wouldn’t get away from us to where other people would rob medicine cabinets or things like that, and yet all of that stuff is happening.  Now we’re having to deal with the aftermath of those unintended consequences,” said Eggleston.

The bill was sent to the Senate on the strength of bipartisan support.  Representative Clem Smith (D-Velda Village Hills) told bill sponsor Jim Neely (R-Camdenton), who is a doctor, that he hoped the bill would become law.

“I know in your career you’ve seen a lot of different things, seen a lot of people that have been impacted, and maybe in your thinking, you’re like, ‘Hey, this might help them get through life or increase their standard of living,’ so just wanted to thank you for it,” said Smith.

The bill also earned support from some in House leadership, including the Majority Floor Leader, Rob Vescovo (R-Arnold).

“I think [Representative Neely] has done a fantastic, fabulous job, channeling this down to what the members of this body wanted to see,” said Vescovo.  “I’m going to go ahead and cast my vote for the terminally ill in my district and across the state.”

HB 1554 goes to the Senate with less than three weeks remaining in the legislative session.

Earlier stories:  

Missouri House considers legalizing medical use of marijuana

Bill to legalize limited medical marijuana heard in House committee

House bill would expand on legal medical use in Missouri of hemp oil

A state House member wants to expand on a Missouri law passed in 2014 that allows the use of hemp oil to treat intractable epilepsy to allow the use of that substance in treating other conditions.

Representative Donna Baringer testified in favor of a 2014 bill that made CBD use by those with intractable epilepsy legal in Missouri. Now she is sponsoring a bill that seeks to expand on that law. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Representative Donna Baringer testified in favor of a 2014 bill that made CBD use by those with intractable epilepsy legal in Missouri. Now she is sponsoring a bill that seeks to expand on that law. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Donna Baringer (D-St. Louis) sponsors House Bill 937, which would allow the use of cannabidiol (CBD) oil to treat several “serious conditions” as specified in the bill.  That list includes cancer, HIV, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, spinal cord damage, inflammatory bowel disease, as well as other diseases or their symptoms.

The bill would also drop the requirement that a patient’s epilepsy be intractable – defined by the 2014 law as epilepsy that has not responded to three or more treatment options – before he or she may use CBD oil as a treatment.

Baringer testified for the 2014 legislation, House Bill 2238.  She told the House Committee on General Laws she wants to expand on that bill after learning that only 64 of about 11,000 eligible Missouri patients are using CBD oil to treat their epilepsy.

“So my question was, ‘Why is this happening?’ and the answer came to be in the original legislation we had very tightly and stringently written it, and while that was good in 2014 because this is our first time ever talking hemp oil, we’ve now found that we now need to readdress it,” said Baringer.

The committee heard from John Curtis, the production director for BeLeaf, one of the cultivators of CBD oil licensed by Missouri.  He said HB 937 would ease what he called a “bottleneck,” that has resulted in so few patients in Missouri using CBD oil.

He said that bottleneck begins with the 2014 law’s requirement that a neurologist recommend CBD oil for a patient, and only for patients with intractable epilepsy.

“Because these folks have to have intractable epilepsy … they get pushed away from standard neurologists onto a specialized subset known as epileptologists.  There’s just not very many of those in the state, and they’re all associated with major hospital systems that, due to conflict with federal law and potential concern about liability, will not allow doctors who have admitting privileges there to recommend this,” said Curtis.

HB 937 would change Missouri law to allow a physician to recommend CBD oil for a patient rather than specify that a neurologist must make the recommendation.

The bill would also allow a greater level of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) allowed by law in hemp oil – .9% by weight.  The current limit is .3% by weight.

Baringer said increasing the limit on the amount of THC would also allow the treatment of more conditions with CBD oil, and it will still not give a patient a “high.”

HB 937 would also allow the state to issue 10 licenses for the cultivation of cannabis.  Currently only two may be issued.  Baringer said with only two cultivators in the state, many Missouri users of CBD oil are getting it from out-of-state suppliers.

The committee also heard from Sandra Davis of Imperial who had been using opioid pain relievers after surgery for oral cancer, and then began using CBD oil.  She said before using CBD oil she was in so much pain she could not eat or talk, and her doctor was about to put her on a feeding tube.

“When I took the CBD oil I did not have to take my pain medication.  I mean zero – none at all.  It increased my appetite because I could actually eat.  I could move my jaw,” said Davis.  Through tears she continued, “I can’t get CBD oil.  I don’t qualify.  I don’t want someone to ship it illegally to me and that makes me a criminal … I can get 400 OxyContin at one time and become addicted.  If you could just expand this bill for people like me who are cancer patients.”

The committee on General Laws is expected to vote on House Bill 937 as early as Thursday.

That committee will also hold a hearing this week on House Bill 2007, a bill with the same language, sponsored by Republican representative Jean Evans.

House members again asked to consider legalizing medical marijuana in Missouri

The Missouri House is again being asked to consider legalizing marijuana for some medical purposes.

Representative Jim Neely (right) listens as Jackson County Sheriff Mike Sharp (left) testifies in favor of Neely's medical marijuana legislation, HB 437. Jackson said he has a nephew that could benefit from medical marijuana. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Representative Jim Neely (right) listens as Jackson County Sheriff Mike Sharp (left) testifies in favor of Neely’s medical marijuana legislation, HB 437. Jackson said he has a nephew that could benefit from medical marijuana. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

House Bill 437 would allow the use of marijuana to treat irreversible debilitating diseases or conditions.  Its sponsor, Cameron Republican Jim Neely, said it would expand on two Missouri laws.  One allows the use of a cannabis extract, cannabidiol (CBD) oil, for treating intractable epilepsy.  The other is the “right to try” law that lets doctors and patients use drugs that haven’t completed the approval process through the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The bill would have the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services create a list of conditions for which patients could be allowed to use medical marijuana.  That list would have to include any conditions or diseases for which a clinical trial of medical marijuana has completed its first phase.

The bill would allow the Department to issue medical cannabis registration cards to Missourians 18 and older for whom a doctor has signed a statement saying the individual suffers from epilepsy or an irreversibly debilitating disease, could benefit from medical cannabis, and has considered all other treatment options.  Parents would be allowed to obtain registration cards for their children.

The House Committee on Health and Mental Health Policy heard from Doctor Adrianne Poe, who told the committee cannabis-based pain treatments would be safer than commonly used opioid-based medications.  She cited a report from the National Academy of Sciences, which said that cannabis is safe and effective in treating pain.

“That is in direct opposition to all of the literature that we have that shows there is not a shred of evidence for the safe and effective use of chronic opioids for chronic pain,” said Poe.  “According to the CDC guidelines which tell us that the very first thing that physicians need to do is find an alternative therapy to opioids for the treatment of chronic pain.  The National Academies has given us an answer on that and the answer is cannabis.”

Heidi Rayl told lawmakers Missouri should not stop with the passage of the law that has allowed her to treat her son’s seizures with CBD oil.

“This is where our state is lacking.  One type of medication does not treat everyone.  I, as Zaden’s mother, should have the right to choose what is best for him,” said Rayl.

Legislators were also told the passage of medical marijuana legislation would put Missouri’s laws in conflict with federal laws.

Jason Grellner with the Missouri, and National, Narcotics Officers' Association testifies against medical marijuana legislation. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Jason Grellner with the Missouri, and National, Narcotics Officers’ Association testifies against medical marijuana legislation. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Jason Grellner with the Missouri, and National, Narcotics Officers’ Associations, told the committee, “If you pass legislation that is in violation of the Supremacy Act of the United States regarding scheduled drugs, I don’t think you want me choosing which laws I enforce and which ones I do not.”

He also said passing a medical marijuana law would mean bypassing the FDA and its consumer protections.

“If I go to a Wallgreen’s in L.A. and buy a Tylenol and I go to a Wallgreen’s in New York City and buy a Tylenol, I am assured under FDA regulations that that is the same drug.  If I walk into a medical marijuana shop and buy purple Kush on Wednesday, there is really no assurance in any state that has medical marijuana that if I go back on another day or to another medical marijuana shop that I am getting the same drug, because there is no standardization of dose,” said Grellner.

Last year the House came the closest it’s ever been to passing medical marijuana legislation, but finally rejected a bill that would have allowed medical marijuana use only by terminal cancer patients in hospice care.

The committee’s chairman, Representative Keith Frederick (R-Rolla), said he is “contemplating” whether to have the committee vote on HB 437.