Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) signed into law Thursday a measure that shields patients who use marijuana extracts for severe forms of epilepsy from criminal prosecution.
The law allows the use of oils derived from two non-psychoactive ingredients found in marijuana — cannabidiol, or CBD, and tetrahydrocannabinol acid, also known as THC-A — when used medicinally to fight against severe seizures.
However, the marijuana oils remain technically illegal under the relatively narrow law, which simply provides an “affirmative defense” to anyone charged with possession of the oils. Under the measure, patients must get written permission from their doctors to obtain and use the oils, yet state law still prohibits cultivation of cannabis, nor does it allow for dispensaries to produce or sell the oils. Therefore, patients would have to obtain the oils from a source like the black market, or from another state with more relaxed laws that allow out-of-state patients to purchase medical marijuana.
–
Legalization advocates believe the classification makes it more difficult to research marijuana’s possible medical benefits, which have garnered increasing attention in recent months. The American Academy of Pediatricians called on the Drug Enforcement Administration in January to reschedule the drug for medical research purposes. In 2014, the Epilepsy Foundation recognized medical marijuana as a potentially beneficial substance for treating epilepsy, calling for better access to the drug and urging the federal government to allow more research into its medical possibilities.
Recently, the United States’ top doctor, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, said marijuana that can be “helpful” for some medical conditions and that science should dictate policy on the substance.
