The House Appropriations Committee has signed off on allocating $1 million to research a non-intoxicating form of medicinal marijuana to treat unmanageable epilepsy in children.
The panel voted 24-0 for the measure (HB 843) on Thursday.
The research would focus on a form of marijuana that is condensed into an oil that is taken orally and its ability to treat chronic seizures. The money would be available to any research university in the state with FDA approval. Several committee members say the $1 million isn't enough, but that it's a start.
The condensed strain of marijuana has been used to successfully treat epilepsy in other states, where it is known as Charlotte's Web, named after a girl in Colorado whose seizures were reduced by taking the drug.
