By Bob Allen
Southern Baptists in Georgia are lobbying against a proposal to allow cultivation of marijuana in the state to produce cannabis oil legalized earlier this year for treatment of certain illnesses like late-stage cancer and epilepsy.
The law allows patients to possess up to 20 ounces of cannabis oil, if prescribed by a physician. Since it’s illegal to cultivate marijuana in Georgia, however, in order to obtain the medicine families have to travel to Colorado and other states where it is legal.
Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, the legislator who pushed for the bill legalizing medical marijuana, is now behind a measure to allow the plant to be grown in the state.
A Commission on Medical Cannabis appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal rejected Peake’s proposal Dec. 9, citing a federal law against growing cannabis and concerns the state cannot adequately control the plant and its products. The lawmaker vowed to continue to push for legislation to make it easier for Georgia residents to obtain the medicines they need.
Mike Griffin, a Georgia Baptist Convention spokesman who testified at the Commission on Medical Cannabis hearing, said in a Dec. 10 interview with Fox News WGAU that Georgia Baptists have not taken a position on cannabis oil but believe in general that medical marijuana “ends up being a step toward recreational use.”
“There’s nobody out there that ignores the fact that the states that have legalized recreational use began with medical use,” Griffin said.
Last month the Georgia Baptist Convention passed a resolution “opposing any legislation that would authorize the cultivation of marijuana in the State of Georgia.”
The resolution’s author, Christian Index Editor Gerald Harris, penned an editorial Nov. 24 terming medical marijuana a “Trojan Horse” being used in an “incremental approach to legalizing marijuana use.”
In his editorial Harris labeled the term medical marijuana a paradox or oxymoron comparable to “jumbo shrimp” or “clearly confused.”
He also pointed out that marijuana is a lucrative cash crop, referring to “the greed of those who will surely profit from its production and sale.”
Rather than politicizing the issue by introducing it in state legislatures, Griffin said it really should be up to the federal Food and Drug Administration to decide whether or not to legalize a pharmaceutical drug.
Previous stories:
SBC leader opposes medical marijuana
Baptist church says ‘no’ to medical marijuana farm
SBC policy expert says medical pot a ‘Trojan Horse’ for legalization