Cannabis is medicine — time to increase access to it – mySanAntonio.com

By | February 3, 2019

Published

I have a story to share about the Texas medical cannabis program.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Julia, a 16-year-old girl diagnosed with intractable epilepsy. When she first came to the Compassionate Cultivation dispensary in February of last year, she had been experiencing multiple debilitating seizures every week, sometimes multiple seizures a day.

Epilepsy controlled Julia’s day-to-day life: She couldn’t go to a normal school; she couldn’t go to summer camp; she really couldn’t do any of the things most healthy teens take for granted. Doctors had tried every traditional epilepsy medication to no avail. But everything changed after she received a prescription from her neurologist for medical cannabis under the Texas Compassionate Use Program, or CUP.

Julia’s new treatment plan included low-tetrahydrocannabinol high-cannabidiol cannabis oil, and the results were dramatic and immediate, with a near-elimination of seizures. Julia could finally do activities on her own — like getting her driver’s license and socializing normally with family and friends — things she couldn’t have imagined possible less than a year ago.

Across Texas, there are patients like Julia who have seen vast improvements in quality of life thanks to locally made CBD medicine that’s strictly regulated.

Indeed, a significant body of research has demonstrated cannabidiol, or CBD can effectively reduce seizure frequency and intensity for many epilepsy patients — as evidenced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s landmark approval of a cannabis-derived CBD drug for certain forms of epilepsy.

There is no question that the Texas medical cannabis program is working; it’s keeping patients safe and ensuring physicians are involved in a patient’s treatment every step of the way. But countless Texans suffer from debilitating conditions that aren’t included in the state program.

When Texas lawmakers passed the Compassionate Use Act in 2015, the existing body of scientific research on potential medical benefits of cannabis was much smaller than it is today. Given that relative lack of hard evidence outside of intractable epilepsy, the limited scope of the Texas program made sense at the time.

But the past three years have seen a surge in scientific discovery.

A 2017 report by the World Health Organization concluded CBD has a high safety profile and is associated with minimal negative side effects compared with traditional pharmaceutical medications. Further, a comprehensive review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine of 10,000 scientific abstracts on cannabinoids noted there is conclusive evidence for therapeutic use for relieving chronic pain; spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients; and chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting.

Studies also indicate cannabinoids may be helpful for treating a number of other conditions, including chronic inflammation and related pain; post traumatic stress disorder; autism; opioid addiction disorders; and spasticity associated with various neurological conditions. Strong research also indicates CBD can minimize debilitating side effects of cancer treatment and postoperative pain.

Armed with a growing body of scientific evidence, it is time for state lawmakers to reconsider the value of this medicine.

Expanding our state’s qualifying conditions list to provide a wider range of patients safe access to medical-grade cannabis-based medicine is a natural and necessary next step in the evolution of the Texas medical cannabis program.

It’s time to ease the restrictive nature of statutes that limit accessibility to the program, such as language requiring physicians to “prescribe” rather than “recommend” medical cannabis — which has curtailed physician participation. It is also incumbent on Texas lawmakers to support the understanding and utility of cannabis-derived medications by creating a legal research and development program to facilitate investigation of further medical applications in our state.

Imagine how many Texans might regain their physical mobility, health and autonomy if we permitted broader access and robust research for medical cannabis.

So, what are we waiting for?

If you agree, please take a few minutes to reach out to your state representatives through Capitol.Texas.gov and let them know how you feel.

Morris Denton is chief executive officer of Compassionate Cultivation, the first and only Texas-owned and -operated licensed medical cannabis company in the Lone Star State.

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