Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Scott Perry (PA-4) is pleased that members of the U.S. Senate today are introducing companion legislation to his House bill to ensure that children and individuals with epilepsy and other debilitating seizure disorders have access to life-changing Cannabidiol (CBD) oil. The Senate legislation is very similar to H.R. 1635 the “Charlotte’s Web Medical Access Act of 2015”, which was introduced by Reps. Perry and Bob Dold (IL-10) in March.

Currently, more than 300,000 children in American suffer from some form of epilepsy. Many of these children experience more than 100 violent seizures a day — any one of which could be fatal without proper care.  Strong anecdotal evidence shows that CBD oil has reduced the amount and duration of seizures in individuals suffering from epilepsy and other seizure disorders; however, CBD currently is banned for medical use at the federal level.

The Senate bill was introduced by Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), Ron Wyden (D-WY), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). In the House, H.R. 1635 has now gained 32 bipartisan co-sponsors, including Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

“Many of my colleagues have been approached in their districts by families whose children suffer from severe epilepsy”, said Rep. Perry. “People across the nation are being forced to consider geographically breaking up their families to move to states that allow CBD treatment.  The federal government shouldn’t break up families who are just trying to help their children.  Were I in a similar situation, I’d want the same for my children; and CBD oil offers great hope for relief.  I applaud the Senators for taking action. These kids and people like them deserve a chance at a healthy and productive life and our government shouldn’t stand in the way.”

H.R. 1635 seeks to exclude CBD oil from the Banned Substances Act. CBD is extracted from a plant containing no more than .3% THC, which means it has no hallucinogenic effects.  

H.R. 1635 has been assigned to the House Energy and Commerce and Judiciary Committees. If voted out of committee, it then moves to the full House for consideration.   To learn more about efforts to raise awareness about epilepsy, please visit http://www.purpleday.org/index.html.