A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Missouri has the backing of Republican state Rep. Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson.

Lichtenegger said Thursday that she has supported similar legislation in past years.

The Missouri House initially supported a medical-marijuana bill in 2016 before reversing its stand and rejecting final passage.

This session, Lichtenegger is one of 14 co-sponsors of House Bill 1554 that would legalize the use of medical marijuana to treat terminally ill patients. Ten of the co-sponsors are Republicans.

Lichtenegger said medical marijuana is not the same as smoking a joint. "These are more oils and creams," she said.

State Rep. Jim Neely, a Republican physician from Cameron, Missouri, drafted the legislation.

It would authorize the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to issue medical cannabis registration cards to any Missouri resident, 18 years of age or older, who can provide a statement signed by a doctor stating that the individual suffers from a terminal illness and may benefit from treatment with medical cannabis.

In addition, parents of minor children suffering from "intractable epilepsy" or a terminal illness, could obtain medical cannabis registration cards on behalf of their children, according to an online summary of the bill.

The cards would be valid for one year, but could be renewed.

The bill would allow qualified individuals to possess up to 20 ounces of medical cannabis.

Under the measure, the Missouri Department of Agriculture would license medical cannabis growers and production facilities.

Lichtenegger said that while she supports the use of medical marijuana, she opposes legalizing recreational marijuana.

Medical marijuana has the support of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (NCADA), based in St. Louis. The group, however, has not taken a specific stand on the bill itself, said spokesman Brandon Costerison.

"Marijuana likely has potential as an effective medicine for a number of conditions," the organization said in a position paper emailed to the Southeast Missourian.

"While NCADA is not supportive of folk remedy marijuana, we would very much support real medical marijuana," the group said.

NCADA said it believes the active ingredients in marijuana should be turned into federal Food and Drug Administration-approved medicines.

"In the meantime, NCADA believes that anyone with a serious illness that has not responded to conventional therapies should be able to try marijuana if a licensed physician has good reason to believe it could offer relief from infirmity," the statement read.

In addition to the medical cannabis bill, legislation has been introduced in the Missouri General Assembly that would allow farmers to grow industrial hemp.

Hemp comes from the same plant as marijuana, but contains very low levels of the psychoactive chemical, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, according to The Associated Press.

Lichtenegger said she supports efforts to legalize hemp production.

Farmers used to grow hemp before federal law largely outlawed production. Since 1970, federal law has barred commercial hemp production, but a number of states now allow it.

Lichtenegger said the United States in the past relied on hemp products.

Hemp was used to make rope and "great clothing," Lichtenegger said.

"It still grows along the (Mississippi) river," she said.

Lichtenegger said if the hemp bill passes this session, it could doom efforts to pass the medical marijuana bill this year. She said the Legislature likely won't pass both bills.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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