DES MOINES — A House committee has approved a bill that would extend Iowa’s existing medical marijuana program.
The House Public Safety Committee voted Tuesday with bipartisan support for the extension. It’s now available for debate in the House. The bill would remove a scheduled sunset this year for Iowa to allow the use of cannabis oil for certain epilepsy patients. The bill would also add language to streamline any future federal designation of certain drug medications related to cannabis oil.
The same committee decided recently not to take up a comprehensive bill that would have created a system for growing and distributing cannabis oil. Supporters of the more comprehensive system say the extension is not enough.
Some GOP lawmakers also back the comprehensive bill, but they say their caucus is monitoring federal activity on the issue.