A bill has been introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives by State Rep. Peter Cownie (R-West Des Moines) which would, in effect, make medical marijuana- cannabidiol – truly legal for use in the State of Iowa.

Currently, it’s legal to use but not to produce.

Simply put, to obtain it you have to cross state lines (to get to Colorado.) Under federal law it’s illegal to transport it accross state lines.

The Iowa House Bill H.F. 2097 would allow medical marijuana to be manufactured in pills or liquid with Iowans already allowed to buy it for medicinal purposes.

It would also allow for cancer, multiple sclerosis and other medical conditions to be treated with it.

The bill has been referred to the House Public Safety Committee.

State Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Garwin) is a member of the committee.

He told The Chronicle: “an opportunity for relief. This program has not proven to be effective for a variety of reasons. First, the efficacy of CBD as a treatment is still in question, like many medicines for epilepsy, individual patients response varies greatly. Second, many doctors have been reluctant to sign for the CBD treatment because they fear backlash from the federal government in the future, a reasonable concern. As a result, few are satisfied with the current program.

Meanwhile scientific studies continue on CBD for specific conditions. Epidiolex, a form of CBD that has proved promising in previous studies, is currently undergoing a clinical study for Dravet’s syndrome, a form of infantile on-set epilepsy. If it proves effective, it could be in pharmacies in the next couple of years as a properly FDA approved drug, manufactured within the pharmaceutical industry with all of the appropriate quality controls. Therefore, it has become clear to me that the legislature needs to step back and let the scientific community deal with this like they would any other drug. Science will tell us what conditions are improved by CBD, and what the side effects might be. Expecting a legislature to replace medical science is a foolhardy and dangerous approach.

House Study Bill 607 has been introduced in the legislature this session seeking to expand the current program, allowing for the production and distribution of CBD in Iowa for a variety of untested uses beyond epilepsy. This is in spite of the lack of approval from medical science, and in spite of the federal laws against these activities and this drug. I will not be supporting this bill because it is contrary to federal law, because medical science has not shown this drug to be useful for all the listed conditions, and because the availability of proper prescription Epidiolex would soon eclipse this bills intent.

State Senator Steve Sodders (D-State Center), Tama County’ member in the Iowa Senate had this to say when asked by The Chronicle: “I’m hopeful that the Iowa House will work with the Iowa Senate on the bill we passed last year on this issue. It is an issue important to many of the constituents in the district I represent. I have seen firsthand on oils derived from Cannabis plant have helped patients.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was asked about the issue at his Tama Town Hall Meeting on Teusday, Feb. 16.

Grassley said he was taking a different approach in a effort in cooperation with Senator Diane Finestein (D-Calif.) He said they were approach the fderal Drug Administration to come up with a safe and “quality” supply for use as a medicine.

Grassley said if the states decide you ultimately “will have 50 different laws in 50 different states.”

-J. Speer