UPDATE 5:30 p.m.: This piece was updated to include more information on cannabidiol, the compound found in cannabis.  Iowa Christian leader and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats on Wednesday said that he supports a deal to allow the growing and harvesting of cannabis for limited medicinal use.  In a Wednesday news conference, Vander Plaats said that he — and, he noted, not the organization he leads, The Family Leader — supported the successful campaign in 2014 to allow patients access to cannabidiol, a compound also known as CBD found in cannabis. CBD does not produce the high typically associated with the plant and used in medicines to treat a variety of ailments, including seizures and neurological disorders.  While 23 states have passed more sweeping medical marijuana legislation, a dozen states, including Iowa, have approved more limited access to CBD-based medicines. But most of those laws lack allowances for growing or harvesting marijuana, thereby making use of the drug legal without setting up the infrastructure for its production. One of the key provisions in the historic Senate medical marijuana bill announced this week would solve that problem, but Vander Plaats wants Iowa to pass a solution of its own.  “I believe in Iowa we have the resources right here to take care of it, where we could grow it, we could harvest it, we could process it, we could manufacture it and we could dispense it,” he said, according to audio posted online by Radio Iowa. “And we could do it the Iowa way with a high regard for ethics and integrity. So what we’re encouraging the legislators right now and the governor is to finish the job. Last year you granted access to medical cannabis oil, now lets make sure that these parents and children have access to it.”  Vander Plaats said he and his wife were “applauding and cheering silently from the sidelines” as the law allowing access to cannabis oil-based medicine wended its way through the state legislature in 2014 because they sympathized with the parents pushing for it. Like those parents, their son Lucas suffers from a seizure-inducing rare brain disorder, he said. If the medicine became available, and Lucas could benefit, they would consider it for him, Vander Plaats added.  “We’ve seen what happens when children have seizures and the different maneuvers we need to make, games almost you need to play to get the right seizure medication to control the seizure that would limit or reduce the side effects greatly,” he said. “And so because of that we took great interest in what was going on a year ago.”  He’s not alone. The issue’s profile has risen in recent years. When a trio of senators introduced an historic medical marijuana bill on Tuesday, it included a provision to solve the CBD states’ problem by allowing the interstate transport of such medicines.  [Sens. Booker, Gillibrand and Paul unveil federal medical marijuana bill]  Vander Plaats said he would not be actively lobbying for a measure to address the gap, but he supports the cause. Later in the news conference, Vander Plaats suggested he is open to broadening access to older patients as well.  Niraj Chokshi reports for GovBeat, The Post's state and local policy blog.
Former gubernatorial candidate and Christian leader Bob Vander Plaats said the state needs to allow production so children can access cannabis-based medicines.