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Medical marijuana bill passes key hurdle in state legislature
Watered-down version still likely to face uphill battle in Senate
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ATLANTA — A bill to legalize cannabis oil to treat seizure disorders and seven other debilitating health problems passed a key committee in the Georgia House on Monday but faces an uphill battle in the state Senate, even in its latest, watered-down version. Originally, the bill listed 17 conditions eligible for treatment with small amounts of cannabis oil, but that was whittled down to eight by its sponsor, Republican Rep. Allen Peake of Macon, who said it would have had no chance of passage in the House, much less the Senate. “Still, we got eight diagnoses (in the bill) that will cover 500,000 people in the state,” said Peake after the measure was approved in a room in the Capitol packed with bill proponents.