Nearly 8,000 Georgians suffer from Sickle Cell Disease and the debilitating pain and nausea that often accompany this disease.
HB 1 (a/k/a Haighley's Hope, signed today by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, is the
only medical cannabis bill in the country to include Sickle Cell Disease patients
among those eligible for treatment. It offers doctors in Georgia another weapon
against pain without the many sickening side effects of other drugs. It is no doubt equally important for the patients who suffer from the pain and seizures that accompany the nine other diseases that are eligible for treatment under HB1. So the
Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, which I chair, and which is the oldest and only statewide Sickle Cell
advocacy organization in the country, is especially pleased to have played a part in the passage
of this most important and historic legislation.
We wish to thank a number of champions who have partnered
with us to make HB1 a reality: the members of the Georgia General Assembly, the
Legislative Black Caucus, Rep. Allen Peake, Sen. Renee Unterman, Rep. Gloria
Frazier, Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler, Rep. Stacey Abrams, Sickle Cell patients, and
the many citizens groups who worked so tirelessly to bring about the passage of this outstanding piece of legislation.
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