Ava Fowler of Clarkesville holds a signed copy of HB1 presented to her last week by 9th Dist. State Rep. Terry Rogers.
There are moments in life when hard work, dedication, and passion converge into one glorious moment; when you can look back and say, “Wow! We did it!” That moment came on April 16th for Sarabeth and Ava Fowler of Clarkesville. The mother and daughter duo stood on the steps in the Georgia State Capitol and watched as Governor Nathan Deal signed a bill into law legalizing medical cannabis oil in Georgia. It took relentless research and lobbying by the bill’s primary sponsor State Representative Allen Peak (R-Macon), the Fowlers and others like them to make it happen, but when it did it was nothing short of glorious.
“It was unreal, really. At the beginning of the session it wasn’t even a real thought that this would happen, that it would pass,” says a still jubilant Fowler days after the signing ceremony in the Capitol rotunda. “To stand there and hear his speech, he (Gov. Deal) literally started to cry. It was a wonderful feeling. We are just overjoyed!”
Sarabeth and Ava fought hard for that moment. They spent long hours each week at the State Capitol during the legislative session lobbying lawmakers in support of House Bill 1. When they weren’t in Atlanta, Ava was in school and Sarabeth was at home in Clarkesville researching, calling, writing emails and letters appealing for support.
The Fowlers were joined in their efforts by hundreds of Georgians whose lives are adversely affected by medical conditions traditional medicine can’t help. In Ava’s case that condition is brain dysplasia, a malformation in the brain that causes seizures. The seizures have disrupted her thought process and life since she was three. The now 8-year old, bright blue-eyed, blonde has been through the gauntlet. Hospital stays and visits, meds, tests, struggles in school and at home: Her life has been changed by the seizures…so has her family’s. Milder medicine that used to control Ava’s seizures no longer work and the high voltage stuff knocks her out. Her mom says the family had run out of treatment options and hope before cannabis oil emerged on the scene.
When politics and medicine collide
The bill Gov. Deal signed on April 16th allows children and adults with certain types of medical conditions to register with the state to legally use cannabis oil for treatment. There’s one caveat though, they’ve got to find a way to get it here. The new law does not allow for in-state cultivation of marijuana – the plant from which cannabis oil is derived. That means patients seeking the oil must obtain it out of state and transport it back home to Georgia. The highways and skyways between here and there are governed by federal law that says marijuana is illegal.
What’s a mother to do?
Well, if you’re Sarabeth Fowler, you adapt. “I’m a big rule follower so for me to consider this, the momma has taken over. If I know that there’s something out there that can help my child, she’s going to get it,” insists Fowler.
Fowler’s not quite as certain when it comes to politics. She mentions the upcoming presidential elections and expresses concern that a new administration might work to override state laws legalizing the use of medical marijuana in all its forms. Still, Fowler’s legal and political concerns pale in comparison to her concern for her daughter. “All of the concerns aren’t going to keep me from getting access to a medication for my child that is void of all the horrible side effects that she currently experiences.”
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There are those who fear legalizing marijuana in any form for any use is a gateway to decriminalization. Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2000. In 2012 the state legalized marijuana for recreational use. 9th Dist. State Rep. Terry Rogers (R-Clarkesville) says he doesn’t expect that will happen in Georgia. Rogers supported the cannabis oil bill. He staunchly opposes other forms of legalized marijuana.
Sarabeth Fowler is content to let others debate the politics. She says the research and testimonies of patients benefiting from cannabis oil have convinced her of its medicinal value. Besides, her fight has never been about marijuana, it’s always been about Ava.
New hope. New friends. New family.
Looking back on their lobbying days at the State Capitol, Sarabeth says she and Ava met and became friends with many people. She says, “We gained a new family.” Ava has a birthday next month. She recently wrote out her invitation list at school and brought it home to her mother. On the list she included Governor Deal, his wife Sandra and Terry Rogers.
Rogers, or, “Mr. Terry” as Ava affectionately calls him, first met the Fowlers in their home back in November. Since then he has forged a close bond with the family. It’s an alliance born out of a mother’s desperate pleas for help and cemented by mutual admiration.
While there are some local outspoken critics of the new law Rogers says, overall, he received overwhelming support from constituents in his efforts to help get it passed.”I was glad to see that the House and the Senate came together to get the process started with this bill,” says Rogers. “It was a long road.”
Looking back on that day so long in the making he recalls walking into the signing ceremony with the Fowlers. “As we started walking towards the rotunda reality set in that, ‘Wow, this is really about to happen!'” With a swoop of the pen Gov. Deal turned the fight for Ava and others like her into a victory.
Not resting on laurels
As they relish that victory, Fowler and Rogers both know there’s still work to be done. The governor will now appoint a commission to study ways to harvest and distribute cannabis oil here in Georgia. The commission has until December 31st of this year to make its recommendations. Deal then will decide whether to make cannabis oil available through the regulatory process or send the recommendations on to the state legislature so that lawmakers can take up the issue next session. “We will research and be extremely involved in pushing for in-state cultivation next year,” says Fowler, “because that will allow us safe access.”
The Fowlers are now waiting out their final few months of residency requirements before they can get a prescription and enroll Ava in Georgia’s new cannabis oil program. (By law you must be a resident of Georgia for at least one year before you are eligible.)
Once Ava is eligible, they’ll have to find a doctor who’ll prescribe cannabis oil: Patients can’t enroll in the program without a doctor’s order. Fowler acknowledges it will be a huge learning curve for medical professionals and some physicians may be reluctant to prescribe it, but she’s confident they’ll come around.
Gratitude
Shortly after the signing ceremony on April 16th the Fowlers met with Gov. Deal. Ava had something to give him. It was a thank you card she’d drawn just for him. Her mom and “Mr. Terry” watched as the governor read the card, bent down, looked Ava in the eye and told her he knew they’d done a good thing for Georgia. “Sweetheart, I just really hope this medicine works for you,” Rogers recounts the governor saying. Rogers adds, “This is what it’s all about and what it should be all about – helping people work through their problems.”
Like her daughter – for her daughter – Sarabeth Fowler is thankful. “I can’t put into words how extremely grateful I am,” she says half misty-eyed, half smiling.
There’s a photo of Terry Rogers handing Ava Fowler a pen on the day the cannabis bill was signed. It’s one of the pens the governor used to sign HB1 into law. Rogers gave it to the young girl as a reminder. He says, “I hope years from now when she’s living a happy, seizure-free life she looks at that pen and knows all the heart and love that went into that bill.”
Full Circle
Last week Rogers made a surprise visit to the Fowler’s home in Clarkesville to present Ava with a signed copy of HB1. As he read off the names of all who had signed it, Ava quietly listened with her mom and little brother Carter by her side. In that moment, in the Fowler’s front yard in Clarkesville, the fight for Ava came full circle.
The pen, the bill, and the photos now stand as reminders of one glorious moment in April when the heart, dedication, love, passion and hard work of many paid off in a victory for Ava.
