Tony Leys

tleys@dmreg.com

A few months after their hopes seemed dashed, parents of Iowa children with severe epilepsy cheered Friday as Gov. Terry Branstad signed a bill allowing them to purchase a cannabis oil extract to lessen the effects of their kids' seizures.

Branstad and many Republican legislators were steadfast opponents of previous medical-marijuana proposals. Even the bill's main sponsor declared on the day of its introduction that it had no chance of passing.

But the parents were undeterred. They cornered lawmakers, talked to reporters and met with the governor. They calmly recounted their children's plight and explained that the extract has very little of the chemical in most marijuana that makes people high.

Branstad praised their efforts.

"This bill received tremendous support and truly shows the power of people talking to their legislators and to their governor about important issues to them, to their families and to their children," he said shortly before signing Senate File 2360 in the Statehouse Rotunda.

The crowd included several families with children in wheelchairs. Some parents, whose children were too ill to travel to the Capitol, held up framed pictures of their sons and daughters.

The bill, which takes effect July 1, will prevent Iowa prosecution of families who purchase the special marijuana extract in other states, such as Colorado. In order to qualify, families will need to obtain recommendations from an Iowa neurologist.

Activists celebrated after the bill signing, but noted they still face hurdles: They will have to find an Iowa doctor willing to sign on, they will have to shoulder the financial burden of traveling to other states, and they may have to get on waiting lists of families looking to obtain the marijuana extract.

"We have to be optimistic," said Maria La France of Des Moines, who was one of the main parent activists. "If I was not an optimistic person, I never would have kept coming up here."

La France, whose son, Quincy, has severe epilepsy, expressed hope that Iowa also will consider allowing use of marijuana to treat other ailments, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Previous medical-marijuana bills failed to gain any traction, and many political observers expected this one to run aground. But it was pushed through the Legislature by the persistence of patients' families.

Sally Gaer of West Des Moines, whose daughter, Margaret, has epilepsy, recalled the skepticism she, La France and the other parents faced when they started lobbying for the bill early this year.

"When you're the parent of a special-needs child, you never give up," Gaer said. "So we weren't giving up. Anybody could call a bill dead, but we weren't giving up."

HIV law expanded

Gov. Terry Branstad on Friday signed a bill that updates Iowa's law against transmitting the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

LONG SOUGHT: The change had been discussed for years, because advocates said Iowa's current law is a "draconian" measure. Under the current law, people could face prison time if they know they are infected with the virus and still engage in any type of "intimate contact" with another person. The current law can be invoked even if the person has extremely low virus levels, used a condom and the person's partner did not contract the virus.

NEW PROVISIONS: Under the new law, transmitting the virus could be one of three classes of crimes, depending on whether the diseased person passed the infection to another person intentionally or with reckless disregard or without informing the person of his or her status.

OTHER DISEASES: Senate File 2297 also expands state laws against transmitting HIV to add other infectious diseases, including hepatitis, tuberculosis and meningococcal disease.

BALANCE: Branstad called the measure "better public-health policy and it still is tough on crime. So I think it's got a good balance."

— Tony Leys

Branstad signs dog racing bill

Gov. Terry Branstad on Friday signed a bill into law that will end greyhound dog racing in Council Bluffs by 2016.

WHAT THE LAW DOES: The measure will end greyhound racing in Council Bluffs but allow dog owners to continue operating a track in Dubuque. It requires casinos that have long subsidized the dog racing tracks to pay $72 million. That will pay for a retirement fund for dog owners and breeders and help the Iowa Greyhound Association negotiate a lease for the Dubuque track.

— Associated Press