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Alabama Senate Facing Bill Allowing Marijuana Oil

A bill planned for the upcoming session of the Alabama Legislature would legalize a substance derived from marijuana that is believed to help control seizures in children.
Laurie Avocado
/
Wikimedia Commons
A bill planned for the upcoming session of the Alabama Legislature would legalize a substance derived from marijuana that is believed to help control seizures in children.

A Huntsville legislator says he's working on changes to his bill allowing an extract from marijuana to be used to treat children's seizures from epilepsy.

Republican Sen. Paul Sanford says he will join other advocates to announce the changes Tuesday and he hopes it will improve the bill's chance of passing.

Sanford's bill was on the Senate's work agenda Thursday, but the Senate broke for the weekend without getting to it. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh says he expects it to be back on the work agenda on Tuesday.

Sanford's bill and similar legislation offered by Republican Rep. Mike Ball of Madison does not outright legalize the oil obtained from marijuana. Instead, it gives patients and their caretakers a justifiable defense if charged with drug possession over the oil.

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