Legislators in Iowa have announced that legislation will be introduced this session to allow "certain Iowa businesses …Â to produce and distribute medical marijuana," according to KCCI News.
This news came after a number of Iowa residents presented their stories to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, also reported by KCCI News, in the hopes of expanding Iowa's medical marijuana law that legalized medical marijuana (CBD oil) only for patients with severe epilepsy.
While the law, passed last year, legalized the use of CBD oil–a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana–it did not provide for a way to access the medicine.
The testimonies to the state committees explained that epilepsy isn't the only medical condition that marijuana can help. Other ailments cited, as reported by KCCI News, were Chrohn's Disease and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
KCCI shared the emotional testimony of Brandon Chase, an Iowa resident who suffers from Crohn's Disease, who said, "Iowans are talking, and IÂ hope you're listening. We need this option now, not years from now. Patients are suffering everyday and dying everyday that could be saved, at the very least have their pain and symptoms eased."
Those who spoke brought up the fact that many FDA approved drugs "often have terrible side effects," things that medical marijuana does not have, according to KCCI.
The other issue that was raised during Iowa residents' testimonies was accessibility of medical cannabis, with advocates saying the state needs to legalize marijuana cultivation in order to provide residents with access. The issue wasn't addressed last year because it was an election year, and  many consider the topic "too hot to handle," reported KCCI.
State Senator David Johnson (R) says more studies from the medical community are needed on these matters, but that "they need to get passed the politics to fix this law," reported KCCI News' Jason Rantala. "Senator Bolkom agrees, and says, 'This law needs to move forward this session.'"
