Carly’s Law study at UAB finds medical marijuana oil helps epilepsy patients
It’s official: cannabidiol, or CBD oil, oil derived from marijuana plants, helps reduce the number of seizures in patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy. That’s according to findings by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) released earlier this month. CBD oil, which contains little of the “high-inducing” chemical THC, came into the Alabama lexicon with the passage of “Carly’s Law,” in 2014 after piece of legislation provided the UAB Epilepsy Center and Children’s of Alabama the ability to conduct clinical trials of cannabidiol, a component of cannabis. Starting in 2015, UAB launched the landmark study, which focused on 132 patients, 72 children and 60 adults, with intractable epilepsy who did not respond to traditional therapies. “The study analyzed data from the 132 patients at baseline and at visits at 12, 24 and 48 weeks. Seizure frequency decreased from a mean of 144 seizures every two weeks at baseline to 52 seizures over two weeks at 12 weeks into the study. The reduction remained stable through the 48-week study period,” wrote Bob Shepard at UAB. “This is a highly significant reduction in the number of seizures that the majority of patients experienced, nearly a two-thirds reduction across the entire study population,” said Martina Bebin, M.D., professor in the Department of Neurology in the School of Medicine and principal investigator of the pediatric arm of the study. “Some patients experienced an even greater reduction of seizure frequency.” The investigators also noted parallel decreases in both seizure severity and seizure frequency, indicating that, for many patients, use of CBD oil led to both fewer and less intense seizures. UAB research makes national impact Thanks in part to the research coming out of UAB, on June 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Epidiolex® for seizures associated with two rare and severe forms of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, marking the first FDA approval of a purified drug derived from cannabis. “This approval serves as a reminder that advancing sound development programs that properly evaluate active ingredients contained in marijuana can lead to important medical therapies. And, the FDA is committed to this kind of careful scientific research and drug development,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. “Controlled clinical trials testing the safety and efficacy of a drug, along with careful review through the FDA’s drug approval process, is the most appropriate way to bring marijuana-derived treatments to patients. Because of the adequate and well-controlled clinical studies that supported this approval, prescribers can have confidence in the drug’s uniform strength and consistent delivery that support appropriate dosing needed for treating patients with these complex and serious epilepsy syndromes.”
Will Joe run? Biden feels the push to take on Donald Trump in 2020
Shortly after Joe Biden boarded a recent flight from Washington to New York, a string of passengers began stopping at his seat in coach to deliver some version of the same message: Run, Joe, run. “We’re with you,” one said, according a Democratic strategist who happened to be on the plane and witnessed the scene. “You’ve got to do this,” said another. Biden himself is more conflicted — but he is listening keenly to the supporters pushing him to run for the White House in 2020. Biden is convinced he can beat President Donald Trump, friends and advisers say, and he has given himself until January to deliberate and size up potential competition for the Democratic nomination, according to people who have spoken to the former vice president about his decision making. In the meantime, Biden diligently maintains a network of supporters in key states, a group 30 years in the making, while some of those competitors are still making introductions. As he makes each careful step, Biden faces the same dilemma. For an elder statesman in a leaderless party, one who long envisioned himself in the top job, the pull toward another presidential bid is strong. But the 75-year-old former vice president must weigh the realities of jumping into a crowded primary full of up-and-comers eager to debate the future of the party. “He is not someone who needs to run to cement his place in history. He’s not someone who needs to run to feel he’s making a significant contribution to the public discourse and the Democratic Party,” said Anita Dunn, a former adviser to President Barack Obama. “But he is someone who, at the end of the day, feels a great deal of responsibility to listen to those people who are urging him to run.” Biden would likely cast a long shadow, but a candidate Biden is not expected to clear what will be a crowded field of aspiring presidents in 2020. He would have competition for the support of the Democratic establishment. And he would almost certainly face tough challenges from the left — the source of much of the party’s energy at the moment — possibly from liberal firebrands Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Biden would likely cast himself as a more centrist Democrat with working-class appeal, bipartisan credentials and grounding in a more civil political culture that has faded in the Trump era, said Jim Margolis, a top adviser to Barack Obama‘s 2008 and 2012 campaigns. “He would carry the imprimatur of the Obama administration in addition to occupying a space in the middle that isn’t as crowded as others who are more actively running,” said Margolis. He hit those themes gently at a memorial service for his late Senate colleague, Republican John McCain, last week. “I always thought of John as a brother,” Biden said. “We had a hell of a lot of family fights.” Biden has eyed the presidency for more than 30 years, waging a failed campaign for the party nomination in 1988 and another 2008, before Barack Obama named him his running mate. He passed on running again in 2016 as he dealt with his older son Beau’s battle with brain cancer. The younger Biden died in March 2015, as the Democratic campaign was taking shape. Since leaving the vice president’s office he has emerged as among the party’s most popular national figures, and one of its most willing Trump adversaries. Biden is in regular talks with a small team of longtime friends and advisers. He also talks to potential donors and longtime staff about the possibility of another campaign. However, he has also signaled to them they are free to ally with other prospective candidates, as he eyes a January timeframe for deciding on whether to run, according to three people familiar with Biden’s thinking who spoke to The Associated Press about his plans on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations. That leaves Biden for the next two months as one of his party’s most sought-after 2018 campaign headliners. He plans to make multiple campaign stops a week this fall for Democratic candidates, according to people familiar with the plans. “As the vice president has said many times himself, he is focused on electing as many Democrats as possible all across the country and on encouraging people to get out and vote this fall,” Biden adviser Kate Bedingfield said. “That’s the focus of his energy right now.” Biden’s choices so far have shown off his deep ties to key early states. He has campaigned for a young former aide now running for Congress in northeastern Iowa, a part of the state with enduring personal loyalty to Biden but that swung toward Trump in 2016. He recently penned an op-ed in The Des Moines Register eulogizing the late Rep. Leonard Boswell, an act that was not political but at the family’s request, according to aides. In South Carolina, Biden endorsed the Democratic nominee for governor, as well as longtime friend and former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian, a state Senate candidate. “If he wants, the day he says he wants to be running for president, he would have a built-in network here,” Harpootlian said. “He’s got friends here going back 30 years.” Not all early-state party activists are clamoring for Biden Part III. What’s left of his New Hampshire network, for instance, is fragmented, aging and undecided heading into 2020, said John Broderick, state chairman of Biden’s first campaign. Though Broderick, now 70, said his own family would gladly support Biden again, many in Biden’s New Hampshire support network “are getting longer in the tooth like I am.” Likewise, Iowa Democrat Mary Maloney, a leading campaign activist for both of Biden’s campaigns, said she would support him, but wondered if younger voters would roll their eyes at yet another Baby Boomer candidate. “I don’t know if a lot of young people get Joe Biden,” said Maloney,
State Sen. Phil Williams to California’s In-N-Out: ‘C’mon to Alabama!’
In-N-Out Burger, a quintessential west coast fast-food chain that’s practically synonymous with California dining, has found itself under scrutiny over a $25,000 contribution to the California Republican Party. Despite the fact that In-N-Out donates to both Republicans and Democrats, Eric Bauman, Chair of the California Democratic Party, called for the boycott of the beloved burger joint last week. “Et tu In-N-Out? Tens of thousands of dollars donated to the California Republican Party… it’s time to #BoycottInNOut – let Trump and his cronies support these creeps… perhaps animal style!,” Bauman tweeted. Et tu In-N-Out? Tens of thousands of dollars donated to the California Republican Party… it’s time to #BoycottInNOut – let Trump and his cronies support these creeps… perhaps animal style!https://t.co/9zkdFaG5CJ — EricBauman (@EricBauman) August 30, 2018 Which got one Alabama State Senator to thinking maybe he ought to invite the Christian-based chain — the company prints Bible verses on the bottoms of its packaging — to relocate their headquarters in more GOP-friendly state. Rainbow City-Republican, State Sen. Phil Williams tweeted an invitation to In-N-Out to move to Alabama on Thursday night. “Hey #InNOutBurger c’mon to Alabama! We love burgers, and we love #Republicans! #alpoliticshttps://t.co/DAruwg2uCh,” Williams tweeted. Hey #InNOutBurger c’mon to Alabama! We love burgers, and we love #Republicans! #alpoliticshttps://t.co/DAruwg2uCh — Sen. Phil Williams (@SenPhilWilliams) August 31, 2018 It remains unclear whether or not In-N-Out would consider leaving California. The company has been headquartered there, in Irvine, Calif since 1948. Currently, it doesn’t have a location farther east than Dallas.
Bradley Byrne: What’s next for Congress?
The House returns to session this week after the month-long August District Work Period, and there are many important legislative items that need our attention. August was a busy time back in Southwest Alabama listening to the people I have the honor of representing. I appreciate all those who took time to visit my office, attend a town hall meeting, or host me at their business. I look forward to taking back all I learned to Washington as we address the range of issues before us. Midterm elections for every House seat and one-third of the Senate seats will occur in November, and elections traditionally slow down legislative action in Washington. That said, there are many priorities that require our attention, and I know many of us are committed to getting the job done. Our biggest priority is passing government funding bills for the next fiscal year. Government funding expires on September 30th each year, so Congress needs to pass funding bills by the end of this month. The good news is that we have finally reached a bit of a breakthrough in the Senate on passing smaller individual funding bills instead of a massive omnibus bill that no one likes. We must get away from these big omnibus bills and focus on passing smaller, targeted bills one at a time. Thanks to Alabama’s own Senator, Richard Shelby, the Senate appropriations process is actually moving forward, unlike in years past. This is a big victory as we try to fix the broken process and pass responsible government funding bills on time. I’m optimistic we can pass many of the funding bills before the end of September. This is especially important for our military as years of delayed funding has deteriorated our readiness leaving our service members without the resources they need to defend our country. There is also a lot of talk in the House about doing “Tax Reform 2.0.” I’m sure you remember last year when Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law. This year’s tax reform efforts will focus on making many of those tax cuts permanent to ensure taxes remain low for American families. The House is also waiting for the Senate to act on a package of bills to address our nation’s opioid drug epidemic. The House has passed over 50 bills to help prevent and treat opioid addiction and abuse while ensuring our drug laws are effective in stopping the flow of illegal drugs. The Senate must act on these bills or pass their own. Far too many Americans are losing their lives to opioid addiction each year, and we must act to stop this alarming trend. While the path forward is not quite as clear, I remain strongly committed to passing an immigration bill to secure our borders, allow for construction of President Trump’s border wall, crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities,” and close loopholes in our current system. Border security is national security, so I am going to keep pushing for the House to pass strong immigration reform. At the committee level, I will continue working on the Armed Services Committee to advocate for full funding for our nation’s defense and provide critical oversight as we continue to rebuild our military. On the Education and the Workforce Committee, we remain focused on reauthorizing of the Higher Education Act and oversight hearings on Department of Labor policies. So, despite what you might hear in the media, the remainder of 2018 will be busy for Congress. I refuse to allow the midterm elections to slow us down from our job: addressing the priorities of the American people. • • • Bradley Byrne is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
Why I rallied for Brett Kavanaugh whose confirmation hearings begin this week
About two weeks ago, I took my toddler son and joined nearly 100 people in the Alabama summer heat to rally for Sen. Doug Jones‘ support for the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Concerned Women of America (CWA) brought their national bus tour to Birmingham, actually Hoover Tactical, on a Thursday afternoon. A number of speakers, both local and national, spoke about how important the Supreme Court nomination is and what it means for our country and future. This was among the highest attended grassroots event that I have seen in years. I believe that speaks to the importance of Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Why was I there? Well I’d venture to guess I was there for the same reason so many others were. I wanted to send the message to Jones that Kavanaugh has broad support throughout the state. He’s been getting a lot of pressure in the last several weeks from both the left and the right: from Obama’s Organizing for America to the NRA and many others. We have seen courts all over the country, especially in recent years, erode our Constitutional rights and try to legislate from the bench. This scares me. It was never the intention of our founding fathers that the court be used in this way and yet courts across our nation have lost sight of their purpose. With an opening on the U.S. Supreme Court bench, it’s important we have the right person fill the seat and I believe, as many others do too, that Kavanaugh is the right choice. His record shows he’s going to look at each issue on its own merits, and decide what best follows the Constitutional rule of law, rather than following his own personal beliefs. Several members of our delegation have weighed in on the choice, along with other Alabama political leaders. For full comments from Alabama leaders you can visit the White House site here and here. Sen. Richard Shelby (AL): “.@POTUS’s #SCOTUSPick is an excellent choice. Judge Brett Kavanaugh has impressive credentials, and I look forward to meeting with him to further consider his qualifications & commitment to upholding our Constitution as it is written.” Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL): “I believe President Trump has made an excellent choice in nominating Brett Kavanaugh. Judge Kavanaugh has the qualifications that make him immensely qualified to take a seat on the highest court in the land.” Rep. Mo Brooks (AL): “President Trump made an excellent choice when he nominated Neil Gorsuch, and he has repeated his standard of excellence by nominating Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.” Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL): “As a fair legal mind, defender of the Constitution, and a judge on the D.C. Circuit, Brett Kavanaugh is prepared for a seat on the Supreme Court. I support President Trump’s nominee, and I hope the Senate will move expeditiously to confirm Judge Kavanaugh, a high quality and uniquely qualified nominee.” Rep. Martha Roby (AL): “This is truly a historic moment in our nation. I applaud POTUS’ decision to nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court. Judge Kavanaugh is a conservative, experienced jurist who I believe will be a strict constitutionalist on the bench.” Gov. Kay Ivey (AL): “I applaud President Trump for his nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Judge Kavanaugh clearly understands the proper role of a judge is to interpret the law as it is written and apply the law impartially.” It’s no secret that so many people around the country supported President Donald Trump‘s candidacy in the general election over Hillary Clinton knowing that he would have Supreme Court nominations. Knowing that these nominations reach far beyond four, or eight, years of his presidency — many who would have otherwise potentially sat out of the election chose to vote for him for just this moment. I encourage everyone to take a moment to write, or call, Sen. Jones and to tell him he needs to use his voice, which is not his own, but rather the voice of Alabama voters and the Alabama conscious to support and confirm Brett Kavanaugh. You can watch tomorrow’s Judiciary Committee hearing on CSPAN here.
Robert Aderholt says government shutdown depends on Democrats funding border wall
Back home in the District for a month-long district work period, more commonly called “August Recess,” Alabama 4th District U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt appeared on Alabama Public Televisions’ “Capitol Journal” on Friday where he discussed the upcoming appropriations bill in the House and Congress’ efforts to tackle them before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. When asked about a possible government shutdown over government funding priorities, Aderholt said it all depends the Democrats and how the react to President Donald Trump‘s request that the appropriations package funds the border wall with Mexico. “I think it all depends on what the Democrats do with funding the wall,” explained Aderholt. “They just do not want to have the border security on the wall issue. The president very much does want to have it.” He continued, “The president ran on this issue, he was elected because of this issue, and I think he feels like he needs to live up… I think we’ll see what the Democrats want to do, if they want to shut down the government saying we want no funding for the wall. I think it’s really up to them.” When pressed further on the issue, Aderholt explained that whether or not Democrats reach across the aisle on the issue really depends on the “political climate as we get closer to the election.” “But, it’s amazing to me this is the one issue they’re dug in on. They do not want to build the wall, but yet that’s what the president talks about,” Aderholt continued. “It would be one thing if the president never talked about it and now wants to build the wall. That’s the thing he talks about probably the most. That’s the thing the American people want – border security. So, having a secure wall and having a border there.” Despite political protest from his Democratic colleagues, Aderholt ultimately believes the wall will be funded. “I don’t know the Democrats want to go home and say, ‘We shut down the government because we don’t want to build a wall. We don’t want to secure the border,’” added Aderholt. Watch Aderholt’s interview below:
Donald Trump sees mixing trade, foreign policy as good politics
When President Donald Trump pulled the plug on an upcoming trip to North Korea by his secretary of state, he pointed a finger of blame at China and the global superpower’s trade practices. In his recent trade breakthrough with Mexico, Trump praised the country’s outgoing president for his help on border security and agriculture. Both developments offered fresh evidence of how Trump has made trade policy the connective tissue that ties together different elements of his “America First” foreign policy and syncs up them with his political strategy for the 2020 presidential election. Trump’s 2016 triumph was paved in part by his support among blue-collar voters in Midwestern manufacturing states that narrowly supported him over Democrat Hillary Clinton, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania. His aggressive trade tactics, epitomized by tariffs and standoffs with longtime economic partners and allies, are aimed at reversing what he has long viewed as unfair trade deals while maintaining support among largely white, working-class voters who have been hurt by the loss of manufacturing jobs. “Trump understands that economic policy is foreign policy and vice versa,” said Stephen Moore, a former Trump campaign adviser and visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation. “The most important element of foreign policy is to not just keep the world safe but to also promote America’s economic interest. That’s what Trump does — this is America First.” It’s also good politics, in Trump’s view. “It’s a populist position. But it’s also a popular position with a lot of Americans,” Moore said. As he puts a high premium on trade gains, Trump is intertwining the issue with a host of top foreign policy concerns. Trump, asked by reporters last week about North Korea living up to its commitments to denuclearize, said “part of the North Korean problem is caused by our trade disputes with China,” pointing to the U.S. trade imbalance with China. “We have to straighten out our trade relationship because too much money is being lost by us,” Trump said. “And as you know, China is the route to North Korea.” Trade has been a common refrain at the president’s rallies, where he has vowed to pursue “fair and reciprocal trade.” “We don’t want stupid trade like we had for so long,” Trump said during a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, in June. Trump’s second year as president has been marked by a number of trade disputes with traditional U.S. allies and global rivals alike, an approach cemented by his tweet that “trade wars are good.” He imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in March, prompting retaliation from the European Union and other American allies. Later in the month, Trump announced tariffs on China to combat what he called the theft of U.S. technology from a wide range of goods and services. China struck back with its own sanctions on a variety of U.S. products, including Midwest farm-produced soybeans in a way to hit hard against the president’s base of voters. The two sides have clashed during the spring and summer, raising the stakes in their trade fight. In late July, Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reached a temporary deal at the White House to avert tariffs on automobile imports and a ramping up of their trade dispute — although the threat still remains. After a breakthrough with Mexico, Trump’s team has been engaged in talks with Canada aimed at creating a new version of the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. While previous administrations have often used a carrot-and-stick approach to trade as a way to forge agreements, before Trump’s arrival trade agendas had emphasized multi-lateral and bilateral deals aimed at maintaining U.S. leadership around the world, promoting American values and improving human rights. This administration, by contrast, “is leveraging foreign policy tools to achieve its trade goals,” said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. Critics say Trump’s insistence on trade concessions could hamper his ability to move forward in other areas. On North Korea, for example, Trump has sought to turn his meeting with Kim Jong Un into a vivid example of how his unconventional style can bring longstanding U.S. adversaries to the bargaining table. But by raising China’s trade practices as essential to any progress to ensuring North Korea gets rid of its nuclear weapons, Trump runs the risk of getting bogged down in both areas — and having little to show for it. Mixing foreign policy and trade policy introduces so many variables it’s “virtually impossible to close on a precise policy decision,” said Daniel Ujczo, a trade attorney with Dickinson Wright PLLC in Columbus, Ohio. “You’re constantly chasing after the next issue as opposed to having a very targeted approach to the objective.” Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Drag Queen Story Hour sparks protests in conservative towns
Once upon a time, in 2015, a writer in San Francisco named Michelle Tea got the idea for “Drag Queen Story Hour:” men in full drag reading children’s books to kids and parents in programs aimed at providing “positive and unabashedly queer role models.” Since then, Drag Queen Story Hours have been held at libraries or book stores in big cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and costume-loving New Orleans — where over-the-top hair, makeup and gowns and stories about gender fluidity aren’t exactly new. In some smaller communities, however, the programs have sparked protests from conservative and religious groups. In Lafayette, Louisiana, west of New Orleans, the president of the local public library board resigned amid debate over plans to hold “Drag Queen Story Hour.” Mayor Joel Robideaux has indicated he may seek to cancel the Oct. 6 program. A handful of protesters showed up in the rain outside an August event at a library branch in Columbus, Georgia, according to the Ledger-Enquirer. And, on its Facebook page, a group called Common Sense Campaign Tea Party is calling for protests of a planned Sept. 8 event at a public library in Mobile, Alabama. That’s where drag queen Khloe Kash is scheduled to read “Rainbow Fish,” a 1992 story about the value of sharing, and “Stella Brings the Family,” about a little girl fretting over what to do about her school’s upcoming Mother’s Day celebration because she has two fathers. “It’s growing all over the nation, including the South,” Jonathan Hamilt, a New Yorker who provides help in organizing the story hours nationwide, told The Associated Press. He said there are DQSH chapters in 40 states and in other countries. Hamilt performs as his drag alter-ego, Ona Louise, at charity events and at Drag Queen Story Hours. He acknowledges that the story hours draw protests in some cities. But he has also been surprised at the acceptance it has received in some rural areas and conservative states such as Wisconsin and Georgia, where he grew up. “You never know how the community is going to react to the programing,” Hamilt said. “It’s kind of a toss-up.” Critics see something sinister: “The program is designed to purposely target children so as to make sexual perversion acceptable through repeated exposure,” a poster on the Common Sense Campaign Tea Party page wrote. AL.Com reported that opponents at a Mobile County Commission meeting described the programs as a “plan to indoctrinate children.” But, so far, the reading sessions are still on. At a Mobile City Council meeting, according to news accounts, some members expressed sympathy with opponents but also cited First Amendment concerns that made them reluctant to try to block the program. Scott Kinney, executive director of the Mobile Public Library system, said the system’s policy on use of meeting rooms stresses maximum availability to the public, and he noted that library facilities have been used by faith-based groups. In Lafayette, the planned October story hour is being coordinated by members of the Delta Lambda Phi Social Fraternity at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. The national fraternity, founded by gay men in 1986, issued a news release supporting the chapter as the controversy erupted last week. “This program teaches love, diversity and acceptance — powerful and positive messages from which all can benefit,” it said. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
