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Wayne Young speaks to the House Judiciary Committee by remote video during a March 16 public hearing on a bill to allow the use of cannabidiol to treat certain medical conditions. Young moved his family from Alabama to Oregon so his daughter, Leni, could receive cannabidiol. (Mike Cason/mcason@al.com)

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The Alabama House of Representatives today passed a bill that would effectively legalize the use of cannabidiol, which comes from the same plant as marijuana, for seizure disorders.

The bill, by Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, would expand on Carly's Law, passed two years ago to allow a UAB study on the use of cannabidiol for seizure disorders.

Ball said Carly's Law was a good step but wants those who did not qualify for the study to have the opportunity to try cannabidiol for potential benefits.

Cannabidiol, also called CBD oil, is legal in some states but not in Alabama. It's made from cannabis, the marijuana plant, but has a much smaller amount of THC, the substance in marijuana that produces a high.

The House passed the bill by a vote of 103-0.

Ball's bill would restrict THC content to 1 percent. He hopes to see it amended in the Senate to allow 3 percent, a level he said is needed for effectiveness.

Ball said even at 3 percent it would not be practical for anybody to use cannabidiol for a recreational high.

A Senate version of the bill, by Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville, would allow 3 percent.

At a public hearing last month, Ball's bill drew opposition from doctors who said the state should wait on more conclusive research and said the bill would allow the use of cannabidiol that is not screened for quality or content like the product given to patients in the UAB study.

The pharmacy grade medicine used in the UAB study, Epidiolex, contains 0.2 percent THC.

Attorney General Luther Strange also opposed the bill, saying the state should not get ahead of the research.

The bill provides an affirmative defense against prosecution for marijuana possession if the cannabidiol is used for a debilitating condition that causes seizure disorders.

Ball's bill originally allowed the use of cannabidiol for a wide range of symptoms, including severe pain, nausea and any condition resistant to conventional medicine. It was amended in committee to cover only seizure disorders.

Ball said he hopes the bill can be changed again to expand the allowed uses because of the potential help it could provide for other conditions.

Ball has named his bill Leni's Law, after Leni Young, whose family moved from Alabama to Oregon so she could receive cannabidiol.

Leni's father Wayne Young, testified by Skype at the March public hearing that Leni had improved markedly since taking cannabidiol.

Carly's Law was named after Carly Chandler, whose parents, along with other parents, spent many hours at the State House lobbying for the bill.