Committee Gives Thumbs Up To $1M Medical Marijuana Research
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — Members of Florida's House Appropriations Committee have given the go-ahead to allocating $1 million for medical marijuana research.
The research would be done on a non-intoxicating form of medicinal marijuana to treat unmanageable epilepsy in children.
The panel voted 24-0 for the measure (HB 843) on Thursday.
The research would focus on a form of marijuana that is condensed into an oil that is taken orally and its ability to treat chronic seizures. The money would be available to any research university in the state with FDA approval. Several committee members say the $1 million isn't enough, but that it's a start.
The condensed strain of marijuana has been used to successfully treat epilepsy in other states, where it is known as Charlotte's Web, named after a girl in Colorado whose seizures were reduced by taking the drug.
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