State Lawmakers Approve Low-THC Medical Marijuana Bills

Spurred on by recent stories of epileptic children finding relief by using marijuana extracts that contain high amounts of cannabidiol (CBD), lawmakers have begun adopting bills allowing for medical marijuana to be used as long as it is minimally psychoactive, the Denver Post reports. The oil in these stories is made from specific strains of marijuana that are high in CBD and low in THC, the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana. The CBD-rich oils have been shown to dramatically decrease the frequency and severity of seizures in many cases, though conclusive research is still lacking at the present. However, the potential of CBD-rich marijuana’s effects has generated a lot of public interest. The laws, advocates argue, may only be symbolic. Because laws in states like Alabama are so limited in scope, they are likely to be practically impossible to enforce. Still, others believe that these laws are but the first steps on the road towards greater acceptance and more legislation allowing the medical use of marijuana.

Unfortunately, these bills do little to help the vast majority of patients who could benefit from using whole-plant marijuana and its extracts. In most medical marijuana states, seizure sufferers make up only a small percentage of total licensed patients. Low-THC marijuana products are not effective in treating many of the conditions for which marijuana has been shown to be beneficial, particularly chronic pain.