Medical marijuana

Bills covering medical cannabis and ride sharing services have cleared committees in the Georgia Senate.

The powerful Georgia Senate Health and Human Services committee has passed its own version of a House bill seeking to allow marijuana extracts to be used for eight medical conditions.

A bill by Republican Rep. Allen Peake of Macon will allow the use of cannabis oil for several medical conditions including cancer, seizure disorders, Crohn's disease, sickle cell anemia and more. The Senate committee removed Fibromyalgia from the list of medical conditions that would be covered under the bill.

The measure now goes to the full Senate. Peake says he hopes this version of the bill will be signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal.

Georgia Regents University announced an institution is conducting a medical marijuana study on children who do not respond to seizure medication.

A bill that would give Uber and other car-hailing services approval to keep operating in Georgia has passed the state Senate's powerful Science and Technology Committee.

The bill by Republican Rep. Alan Powell of Hartwell passed Thursday in a split vote. It could be headed for a vote soon on the Senate floor.

The legislation partly deregulates taxi and limousine companies, but also requires car-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to conduct background checks on drivers, identify vehicles with tags of some sort and pay sales taxes or a per-car fee to the Georgia department of Revenue.

Another House bill by Republican Rep. Rich Golick of Smyrna would require car hailing companies to carry the same level of commercial liability insurance that's required cabs and limousines.

Tags: medical marijuana, car-hailing services, ride-sharing services, Rep. Allen Peake, medical cannabis oil, medical cannabis bill