L ast Thursday, Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill that allows for pilot studies to evaluate the effectiveness of an ingredient in hemp to treat intractable epilepsy.
The governor claimed a victory.
“This law will help ease the suffering endured by children (for) whom no other treatments are effective against their seizures,” he said in a statement, according to The (Raleigh) News & Observer.
But the help the bill provides for those who suffer from epilepsy is negligible. Only those enrolled in clinical trials will have access to hemp-based treatments, meaning very few North Carolinians with epilepsy will be affected by the bill.
According to The News & Observer, each trial will only involve 10 patients, and not many trials are planned.
While the passage and signing of the bill into law led politicians in Raleigh to pat themselves on the back, more aggressive legislation is required to create any notable positive impact on those suffering from epilepsy.
If Raleigh really wanted North Carolina’s research institutions to pursue investigations into the effectiveness of hemp ingredients, the government would not merely legalize research, but also provide extensive funding. The law did not provide any extra funding to North Carolina’s research institutions, ignoring what is almost always the real engine of change: money.
As it stands, the new law is harmless but ineffective. Unfortunately, the passage of this legislation into law means that further efforts to aggressively explore hemp-based treatment options for epilepsy sufferers will likely be ignored.
North Carolina’s leaders, when they pursue something positive, should put their full weight behind it. They have proven perfectly capable of pursuing broad legislation for undesirable purposes. They should be able to pursue constructive legislation more than halfway.
