Hero Congressman Openly Defying Drug War to Bring Cannabis to Sick Kids

Since at least 2015, one Georgia lawmaker has bravely defied the law to bring medical cannabis into his state, to help children suffering from debilitating conditions such as chronic seizures. Rep. Allen Peake’s campaign of civil disobedience has evolved into an extensive distribution network, and along the way, he has attracted the support of many lawmakers – even some who were formerly opposed to medical cannabis.

Peake is a self-described conservative Christian who says moral principles guide him in this endeavor. Seeing children confined to a hospital bed, after all the ‘legal’ prescription medications have failed them, is a compelling reason to challenge unjust prohibition and bring these patients medicine that works.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to be able to help get product to these families, these citizens who have debilitating illnesses,” Peake said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Every month a cardboard box with cannabis derivatives arrives from Colorado to his office, whereupon it is distributed to hundreds of sick people around the state. Thanks to a 2015 bill championed by Peake, Georgia now allows patients with certain conditions to possess low-THC medical cannabis. But the law is still restrictive in that people cannot cultivate, import, or purchase it.

Enter Rep. Allen Peake. He gives the medical cannabis to patients for free, which is permissible under Georgia law. He can’t legally pay for it, either, so Peake makes a $100,000 donation to a Colorado medical cannabis research foundation every time he receives a delivery. He has a medical cannabis card which allows him to possess the product.

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“Quite frankly, I don’t know how the product gets here,” Peake said in the interview. This deliberate ignorance is necessary because transporting cannabis across state lines is a federal felony. He will never recover the donation money, but helping people is more than enough payment for him.

Shannon Cloud, whose daughter has Dravet syndrome and has benefited from medical cannabis, now helps distribute the product from Peake’s office to Atlanta. She sums up the absurdity of the situation.

“It shouldn’t be this way,” said Cloud. “You shouldn’t be meeting at a gas station or a Target parking lot to get medicine to somebody. You should be going to the place where it is produced and tested to get it dispensed to you in a regulated manner, but this is what we’re forced to do.”

We first reported on the noble actions of Rep. Allen Peake in January 2016. Before Georgia began allowing very limited medical cannabis use, Peake was helping families move to Colorado so they could legally treat their suffering children. He visits them on a regular basis, witnessing in person how this miracle plant can transform lives for the better.

“Listen, I made a commitment to these families when I got involved, that I was willing to do whatever it took to make sure they had access to a product from a reputable manufacturer. I’ve made good on that promise. If it involved civil disobedience, it’s been absolutely worth it,” said Peake.

The joy of knowing that sick children are being healed compels this lawmaker to build upon his efforts.

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“I got a text this morning from the mother of a young child who I delivered product to,” said Peake. “And the heartfelt thanks from this mother, the difference in this child – the increase in cognitive ability, the reduction in seizures, has been worth every bit of risk that I’ve taken.”

While he shepherds medical cannabis to needy patients in Georgia, Rep. Peake is attempting to further dismantle unjust prohibition. A new bill to expand the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis is awaiting the governor’s signature, and one day Peake hopes to see the cultivation, production, and sale of cannabis oil legalized in his state.

The war on drugs is a war on people, as the prohibition of life-saving medical cannabis clearly shows. With persistence and civil disobedience, change can come even to the most staunch prohibitionist states such as Georgia.

Christian Lawmaker Breaks Law to Deliver Medical Cannabis Oil to Patients

(ANTIMEDIA) Macon, Georgia — Though states around the country are legalizing both medicinal and recreational cannabis, many Americans in need of the plant still face difficulties obtaining it.

In Georgia, for example, which approved a medical marijuana program in 2015, only 1,300 patients qualify, and they are not actually allowed to obtain it. The Associated Press notes Georgia’s law “now provides low-THC cannabis oil to more than a thousand patients. Enrollees can have it, but they can’t cultivate, import or purchase the drug.” This stipulation leaves many Georgians without access to the plant they are ‘allowed’ to use.

Enter state Representative Allen Peake, who is evading the state’s edicts to provide cannabis oil to medical marijuana patients who are unable to get it themselves because of the law. Peake previously authored the 2015 bill that allowed medical access to cannabis and is currently working to expand the legality of the plant. In the meantime, he is providing the medicine to people all around the state.

AP reports that Peake imports the oil from outside Georgia but insists he does not know where it originates — and doesn’t want to know. “Quite frankly, I don’t know how the product gets here,” he says.

AP details his “quasi-legal” process:

“Each time one of the nondescript boxes arrives, Peake makes a significant donation to a foundation in Colorado that supports research of medical cannabis. He can’t make a direct payment, because that would be illegal. But with his donations of about $100,000 a year, he and his wife are able to supply the oil to hundreds of patients across Georgia.”

Peake and his wife distribute the cannabis oil for free because if they attempted to sell it, they would be committing a felony. Further, though medical marijuana is legal in Georgia, transporting it across state lines is not.

But that’s not the only reason Peake gives it away. He fundamentally believes in people’s right to medicate themselves. As the conservative Christian lawmaker — who also owns a successful chain of restaurants — told AP, “We’re going to do whatever it takes to be able to help get product to these families, these citizens who have debilitating illnesses.”

“‘I’ll never recover that money,’ but the satisfaction of helping people makes it all worthwhile, he said.”

Peake ensures that everyone he works with and who delivers the cannabis is “registered with the state and enrolled in the medical cannabis program so they can legally handle the product,” and though he isn’t a qualified patient himself, he says he obtained a medical cannabis card so he can “show it to constituents as he promotes the program.” That card allows him to legally possess the cannabis at his Macon, Georgia, office.

One mother whose daughter benefitted from cannabis oil after developing Dravet’s syndrome, a rare seizure disorder, helps Peake distribute his supply. “It shouldn’t be this way,” Shannon Cloud says. “You shouldn’t be meeting at a gas station or a Target parking lot to get medicine to somebody. You should be going to the place where it is produced and tested to get it dispensed to you in a regulated manner, but this is what we’re forced to do.”

Peake says at least 20 state representatives and senators have referred their constituents to him — even some who opposed legalizing medical marijuana but changed their minds when someone close to them became ill.

Considering lawmakers who previously opposed legalizing medical cannabis are having a change of heart — and a lawmaker like Peake is willing to risk his own freedom to make it accessible to those who need it — there is no doubt legalization efforts will only gain further traction in the near future.

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