A key Republican lawmaker says the federal agency in charge of approving prescription drugs for the marketplace should make the decision about medical marijuana.
Senators may debate a bill next week that would allow marijuana to be grown, processed and sold in Iowa as treatment for a list of medical conditions that cause severe pain, nausea and seizures. House Republican Leader Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake makes decisions on which bills get considered in the House and she’s not inclined to bring that bill up for debate.
“If this is a legitimate medication…I really think the FDA needs to weigh in on this issue,” Upmeyer said this morning during Republican legislative leaders’ weekly news conference. “That’s the way we do other medications. I think that makes sense.”
The Food and Drug Administration’s website expresses support for clinical studies of marijuana’s use as a medical treatment, but the “FDA has not approved marijuana as a safe and effective drug for any” medical condition.
Last year Iowa legislators and the governor approved a bill that decriminalized possession of cannabis oil for the treatment of chronic epilepsy, but the parents of children who suffer from intractible epilepsy say they can’t get it here or buy it elsewhere and bring it home.