Ga. medical cannabis fight in final hours

ATLANTA -- A debate over access to medical cannabis in Georgia will be decided in the next few hours at the state Capitol.

Watching closely are people like Dale Jackson of LaGrange, who wants his son to be able to legally take medical cannabis for the symptoms of autism.

Jackson and a handful of other activists met with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle on Thursday evening, urging him to call a state Senate vote on a medical cannabis bill.

The bill, just approved by the House, would add people who have seven more diagnoses to the list of those who can join the state's medical cannabis registry.

With a medical cannabis card, those patients are allowed to possess a liquid made from cannabis.

The list of new diagnoses that would be added by the bill includes autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, HIV and AIDS.

A spokesman for Cagle's office, in a written statement, said that the "lieutenant governor is looking for a consensus to try and find a path forward."

The annual legislative session ends at midnight.

Update: Georgia medical cannabis bill dies in final minutes of legislative session

To contact writer Maggie Lee, e-mail mlee@macon.com

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Ga. medical cannabis fight in final hours ."