It is time to allow the in-state cultivation of medical marijuana.

People suffering from late stage cancer, ALS, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, sickle cell disease, certain seizure disorders, Crohn’s disease, mitochondrial disease, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, AIDS, Epidermolysis Bullosa, Alzheimer’s and peripheral neuropathy can now legally possess and use low levels of medically prescribed cannabis, they just can’t legally get ahold of it. 

That makes no sense and is a huge disservice to the patients who need the medication.  

In addition, the veil of secrecy surrounding medical marijuana treatment in Georgia is unwarranted.

It was right for state lawmakers to make it easier to obtain medical cannabis in Georgia for patients who can find no other effective treatment for their conditions, and there should be no reason for patients or providers to have to conceal their actions. 

Selling, using and even cultivating controlled medical marijuana in Georgia has nothing to do with fostering a drug culture and incubating an environment for illegal behavior.

We support the efforts of Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, to make legally restricted cultivation possible in Georgia.

Regulated medical cannabis is not a gateway drug and will not lead to illegal drug use and abuse.

Obtaining and using medical marijuana should have no more stigma attached to it than any other medically warranted prescription drug or treatment.

It should not be difficult to find the treatment option for those who need it, and the names of doctors with their contact information should be readily available.

Lawmakers have been moved by the plight of families, especially those with young children, who have either been denied access or have had to go outside of Georgia — creating a great financial burden and risking being charged with a crime — to get treatment that is effective for their serious medical conditions.

However, merely legalizing the use for certain conditions has not removed the stigma and now many of the doctors who prescribed cannabis are almost impossible to find, many of them fearing backlash. 

The only real way to make treatment more readily available is a change in federal law.

When the U.S. Congress made marijuana a Schedule I, illegal, drug in 1970, it said cannabis had no accepted medical use. The medical community now knows that is not true.

Now, almost 50 years later, more than half of U.S. states have legalized the medical use of marijuana.

The public seems to understand medical cannabis is the only effective drug for many patients including some of those who suffer from epilepsy, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease and the negative effects of chemotherapy. These patients should be able to get a prescription for a legal medication that works and not risk running afoul of the law and doctors should be able to openly prescribe the medication without fear of backlash.

When state lawmakers legalized the possession and use of the low-level oils, without allowing cultivation and manufacturing, they effectively created a black market that may be lucrative for suppliers but forces families seeking relief for a suffering child to run afoul of the law. 

It is time to lift the stigma and remove the obstacles for medically prescribed cannabis products for the patients who need the treatment. 

It is time for legal in-state cultivation.