MACON, Ga. — Georgia lawmakers are taking steps to grow access to medical cannabis statewide.

Last week, state senators passed SB 220, which would boost the legal dosage of medical THC oil from 5% to 50%. Its counterpart, HB 227, replaces the term “low-THC oil” with “medical cannabis,” in Georgia code. 

It also expands availability to more patients by removing requirements that certain medical diagnoses like cancer or sickle cell disease be “severe or end stage.”

District 134 Rep. Robert Dickey (R) sponsored the “Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act,” which was approved by the House on February 27.

This comes more than a decade after former Macon Rep. Allen Peake launched the fight to legalize medical cannabis for Georgians with severe medical problems. He was inspired by a little girl named Haleigh Cox, whose family turned to cannabis oil to treat her seizures. 

Starting in 2014, Peake began filing bills to make cannabis oil or medical marijuana accessible for patients. 

His bill failed the first year, but in 2015 Governor Nathan Deal signed the “Haleigh’s Hope Act.” It created a limited list of medical conditions that qualified and said patients needed state approval to receive the treatment.

Rep. Dickey is now taking the reins to rewrite the rules to include more Georgia patients.

“Cannabis has a place in treatment, it has a place for people,” Dickey said. “We’re the lowest usage state of anywhere around, and I think it’s just been because of multiple kind of reasons. I just thought it was time that we opened things up just a little bit here to see where it takes us. We’re very restrictive compared to other states, but this bill takes small steps.”

Haleigh’s mom, Janea Peloquin, helped pioneer the early stages of the movement in 2014 when her daughter would experience hundreds of seizures a day. 

“In 2014, THC was ‘that word,’ you weren’t allowed to say it in front of any of the representatives,” Peloquin said. “We’ve got to get past that stigma and focus more on the healing properties that it’s having. I think Georgia is going in the right direction by changing a lot of the law that was there.”

At 4 years old, doctors told Janea her daughter wouldn’t live past the age of 5. She soon packed her bags to move the family to Colorado, where cannabis oil was accessible.

Haleigh uses a strain that’s named for her called “Haleigh’s Hope.” She is now 15 years old, and lives full-time in Colorado with her mom.

Her two doses a day have luckily made seizures a rarity, and Janea says they help Haleigh better communicate and stay awake during the day. 

“When she first started having seizures, it was constant. You had to watch her, 24/7. Now, I’m not waiting for the next seizure to hit,” Peloquin said. “I’m just waiting for the next smile or the next word that comes out of her mouth, or the next new thing she does throughout the day…how far we’ve come is pretty amazing.”

Both SB 220 and HB 227 still await a vote from the other chamber. 

Dickey says he expects the biggest challenge for lawmakers will be deciding dosage regulations. He hopes a decision will be made within the next 3 weeks. 

RELATED: THC uncertainty follows surprise state Senate vote

RELATED: Georgia Crossover Day: Senate passes bill to punish cities over gun storage requirements; THC bill through last-minute