Advocates fighting to keep Medicinal Hemp legal in Iowa
Iowa Family Fights to Preserve Access to Hemp Medicine for Daughter.
A controversial amendment to the Iowa Hemp Act is awaiting Governor Kim Reynolds’ signature, but a group of desperate Iowans isn’t giving up hope just yet.
The Gaer family of West Des Moines is among thousands in Iowa who’ve found relief in a full-spectrum, non-psychoactive hemp product called Charlotte’s Web. The Gaers’ daughter, Margaret, takes it to fight a rare form of epilepsy. Under the amendment, purchasing or consuming the product in Iowa would become illegal.
The amendment would limit all hemp products to 10 milligrams of THC per container, far below what Charlotte’s Web contains.
The Gaers and experts in the industry say that the THC in full-spectrum hemp products is neutralized by their CBD content, and there is no intoxicating effect.
“We know it’s tested, we know it’s full-spectrum hemp. We know they just don’t bottle some random thing, we know it’s quality-controlled—it’s what helps our daughter,” said Sally Gaer. “You know…you fight to find caregivers, you fight to find a medicine that works, you do everything you can and then you’ve got the legislature fighting with you. It’s so frustrating.”
In an 11th-hour move, the industry and its beneficiaries have put together a PR push, involving Ryan Hanser’s firm, Hanser & Associates.
“This is not a conversation about who gets high and who doesn’t. This is about legal therapy that should remain legal for Iowans because it is to their benefit and harms no one,” said Hanser.
If the bill is signed, manufacturers will pull their products and Iowans will be forced to obtain them illegally from other states.
“Then we’re at risk of the criminal penalties under the bill they just passed. And so is our daughter, because she’s an adult,” said Gaer.
The Gaers and many others who’ve found relief in full-spectrum hemp medicines have written to Governor Reynolds, pleading with her to veto the bill.
