This is the medical marijuana bill that passed almost unanimously in the Georgia State Legislature in 1981. Many of the bills subsequently introduced in other states were based on this bill. A bill introduced in Congress by then Georgia House Representative Newt Gingrich in 1981 was based primarily on the language of this bill. (He has since recanted his support for medical marijuana) |

The MMNA (1981) is still in effect but no longer implemented due to the Federal Government's resistance to supplying the herb to needy patients. CAMP is presently attempting to introduce legislation to modify the 1981 Bill and include a list of other ailments that benefit from this treatment and to reaffirm the people's support for the original intent of the law.

Medicinal Marijuana
Necessities Act of 1981

 43-34-121 G
*** CODE SECTION ***
 
  43-34-121.
 
  (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that the potential
  medicinal value of marijuana has received insufficient study due to
  a lack of financial incentives for the undertaking of appropriate
  research by private drug manufacturing concerns. Individual
  physicians cannot feasibly utilize marijuana in clinical trials
  because of federal governmental controls which involve expensive,
  time-consuming approval and monitoring procedures.
 
  (b) The General Assembly further finds and declares that limited
  studies throughout the nation indicate that marijuana and certain of
  it's derivatives possess valuable and, in some cases, unique
  therapeutic properties, including the ability to relieve nausea and
  vomiting which routinely accompany chemotherapy and irradiation used
  to treat cancer patients. Marijuana also may be effective in
  reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients who do not
  respond well to conventional medications.
 
  (c) The General Assembly further finds and declares that, in
  enabling individual physicians and their patients to participate in
  a state-sponsored program for the investigational use of marijuana
  and its derivatives, qualified physicians and surgeons throughout
  the state will be able to study the benefits of the drug in a
  controlled clinical setting, and additional knowledge will be gained
  with respect to dosage and effects.
 
  (d) It is the intent of the General Assembly in enacting this
  article to permit research into the therapeutic applications of
  marijuana and its derivatives in cancer and glaucoma patients. This
  would allow qualified physicians approved by the Patient
  Qualification Review Board created by Code Section 43-34-124 to
  provide the drug on a compassionate basis to seriously ill persons
  suffering from the severe side effects of chemotherapy or radiation
  treatment and to persons suffering from glaucoma who are not
  responding to conventional treatment, which persons would otherwise
  have no lawful access to it. It is the further intent of the General
  Assembly to facilitate clinical trials of marijuana and its
  derivatives, particularly with respect to persons suffering from

  cancer and glaucoma who would be benefited by use of the drug.
 
  (e) This article is limited to clinical trials and research into
  therapeutic applications of marijuana only for use in treating
  glaucoma and in treating the side effects of chemotherapeutic agents
  and radiation and should not be construed as either encouraging or
  sanctioning the social use of marijuana. Nothing in this article
  shall be construed to encourage the use of marijuana in lieu of or
  in conjunction with other accepted medical treatment, but only as an
  adjunct to such accepted medical treatment.
 

43-34-122 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  10/15/99
 
  43-34-122.
 
  As used in this article, the term:
 
    (1) "Composite board" means the Composite State Board of Medical
    Examiners established pursuant to Article 2 of this chapter.
 
    (2) "Marijuana" means marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinol, as
    defined or listed in Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 16.
 
    (3) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine
    pursuant to Article 2 of this chapter.
 
    (4) "Program" means the Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research
    Program established pursuant to Code Section 43-34-123.
 
    (5) "Review board" means the Patient Qualification Review Board
    established pursuant to Code Section 43-34-124.
 

43-34-123 G
*** CODE SECTION ***
 
  43-34-123.
 
  (a) There is established under the Composite State Board of Medical
  Examiners the Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Program,
  which shall be administered by the composite board. Under the
  program, the composite board shall act as a sponsor of state-wide
  investigational studies, utilizing as drug investigators individual
  physicians who elect to participate in accordance with the
  guidelines and protocols developed by the composite board. Such
  guidelines and protocols shall be designed to ensure that stringent
  security and record-keeping requirements for research drugs are met
  and that participants in the program meet those research standards
  necessary to establish empirical bases for the evaluation of
  marijuana as a medically recognized therapeutic substance. The
  composite board shall promulgate such rules and regulations as it
  deems necessary or advisable to administer the program. In
  promulgating such guidelines, protocols, rules, and regulations, the
  composite board shall take into consideration those pertinent rules
  and regulations promulgated by the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency,
  the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institute on Drug
  Abuse.
 
  (b) The program shall be limited to patients who are certified to
  the composite board by a physician as being:
 
    (1) Cancer patients involved in a life-threatening situation in
    which treatment by chemotherapy or radiology has produced severe
    side effects; or
 
    (2) Glaucoma patients who are not responding to conventional
    controlled substances.
 
  (c) No patient may be admitted to the program without full
  disclosure by the physician of the experimental nature of the
  program and of the possible risks and side effects of the proposed
  treatment.
 
  (d) The cost of any blood test required by the federal Food and Drug
  Administration prior to entrance into the program shall be paid by
  the patient seeking entrance into the program.
 
  (e) Only the following persons shall have access to the names and
  other identifying characteristics of patients in the program for
  whom marijuana has been prescribed under this article:
 
    (1) The composite board;
 
    (2) The review board created by Code Section 43-34-124;
 
    (3) The Attorney General or his designee;
 
    (4) Any person directly connected with the program who has a
    legitimate need for the information; and
 
    (5) Any federal agency having responsibility for the program.

43-34-124 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  10/15/99
 
  43-34-124.
 
  (a) The composite board shall appoint the Patient Qualification
  Review Board. Each member of the review board shall be approved for
  such membership by a majority vote of the composite board and shall
  serve at the pleasure of the composite board. The review board shall
  be composed of:
 
    (1) A board certified physician in ophthalmology;
 
    (2) A board certified physician in surgery;
 
    (3) A board certified physician in internal medicine and medical
    oncology;
 
    (4) A board certified physician in psychiatry;
 
    (5) A board certified physician in radiology; and
 
    (6) A pharmacist licensed under Title 26, relating to pharmacists,
    pharmacy, and drugs.
 
  (b) The review board shall elect from its members a chairman and a
  vice-chairman. The review board shall hold regular meetings at least
  once every 60 days and shall meet at such additional times as shall
  be called by the chairman of the review board or the president of
  the composite board. Each member of the review board shall receive
  for services for each day's attendance upon meetings of such board
  the same amount authorized by law for members of the General
  Assembly for attendance upon meetings of the General Assembly.
 
  (c) The composite board shall adopt such rules and regulations as it
  deems necessary for the performance of the duties of the review
  board.
 
  (d) The review board shall review all patient applicants for the
  program and their physicians and shall certify those qualified for
  participation in the program. The review board shall additionally
  certify pharmacies which are licensed by the state and which are
  otherwise qualified and certify physicians regarding the
  distribution of marijuana pursuant to Code Section 43-34-125.
  Meetings of the review board to certify patients, physicians, or
  pharmacies shall not be open to the public, as otherwise required by
  Chapter 14 of Title 50.

43-34-125 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  10/15/99
 
  43-34-125.
 
  (a) The composite board shall apply to contract with the National
  Institute on Drug Abuse for receipt of marijuana pursuant to this
  article and pursuant to regulations promulgated by the National
  Institute on Drug Abuse, the Food and Drug Administration, and the
  Federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
 
  (b) The composite board shall cause marijuana approved for use in
  the program to be transferred to a certified pharmacy, licensed by
  the state, for distribution to the certified patient by a licensed
  pharmacist upon a written order for research medication of the
  certified physician, pursuant to this article. Any reasonable costs
  incurred by the composite board in obtaining or testing marijuana
  shall be charged to participating physicians who may seek
  reimbursement from their research subjects utilizing the marijuana.

43-34-126 G
*** CODE SECTION ***  10/15/99
 
  43-34-126.
 
  Patient participants in the program are immune from state
  prosecution for possession of marijuana as authorized by this
  article and under the program established in this article.  A person
  authorized under this program shall not possess an amount of
  marijuana in excess of the amount prescribed under the authority of
  this article.  The amount prescribed shall be maintained in the
  container in which it was placed at the time the prescription was
  filled. Physician, pharmacy, and pharmacist participants in the
  program are immune from state prosecution for possession,
  distribution, and any other use of marijuana, which use is
  authorized such persons by this article.  Any such possession,
  distribution, or other use not authorized by this article shall be
  enforced and punished as provided in Chapter 13 of Title 16,
  relating to controlled substances and dangerous drugs, and Chapter 4
  of Title 26, relating to pharmacists and pharmacies.