The Texas Compassionate Use Program was first established in 2015, allowing the use of high-CBD, low-THC cannabis oil only for Texans diagnosed with intractable epilepsy. Though legal, marijuana is still classified as a Schedule 1 drug and is not covered by insurance. As a result, the cost for treatment can range from $250 to $1,000 per month depending on the patient and the severity of the condition.
“Medical marijuana has transformed the lives of thousands of Texas patients, caregivers, and their families, including those featured in this documentary,” said Morris Denton, CEO of Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation.
Texans with Chronic Conditions Are Chasing Hope
This week marks the premiere of “Chasing Hope,” a new mini-documentary following six Texas families using medical marijuana to treat their children’s epilepsy. Through a series of intimate interviews with parents, children, a neurologist, and the CEO of Texas’ first legal medical marijuana dispensary, Compassionate Cultivation, “Chasing Hope” gives an unflinching look into the patients’ lives and their search for hope and relief.
From a 17-year old who testified to the efficacy of medical marijuana before the Texas House of Representatives to a family financially struggling to afford their child’s oil, “Chasing Hope” goes beyond the health benefits to explore the lesser-known issues, restrictions and costly implications that surround this controversial medication, especially in a conservative-led state.
Chasing Hope from Justin Wilson on Vimeo.
The film was born out of the personal struggle and experiences of the filmmaker, Ryan Durr. “For three years, my wife and I battled our son’s rare epilepsy disorder, and after failing half a dozen medications, we feared our options were exhausted…until we tried medical marijuana,” Durr said.
During the filming of “Chasing Hope,” the Texas legislation expanded the TCUP to include patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, autism, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, terminal cancer, spasticity, and other neurodegenerative diseases. Since the documentary’s filming, many of the patients have achieved previously unreachable life milestones.
Enter Team One in Dallas
Durr is an Associate Creative Director at Team One, a fully integrated media, digital, and communications agency with offices in Dallas. The film was greenlit after winning the agency’s “Launch an Idea” program, an annual initiative meant to encourage ideas that make a difference within the community.
For several years now, Team One has given its team members the opportunity to apply that big thinking to causes and communities in need.
Each year, the ask is simple: collaborate with fellow Team One employees to develop a proposal for an original idea that will solve a problem near to your heart that will benefit the community. Ideas are then judged by the agency’s leadership team, measured on innovative thinking, the potential to generate awareness and buzz for the problem, and how it ties to the agency’s values.
The winning team receives $25,000 to turn their idea into a reality. And each member of the winning team also receives a week of paid leave and up to $2,500 of travel expenses to recharge once the idea finally launches.
In Related News, You Buy CBD from Industrial Hemp Right Now
Relief from pain, anxiety, and more is also legally available right now in Texas and everywhere else thanks to the cultivation and legalization of industrial hemp.
While there are no strains to get a person high, mentally speaking, the strains from Restart CBD and other providers in Texas are full of CBD and they are fully legal for adults to purchase.
Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation is also in the CBD business, but it provides its patients with “medical-grade” CBD. What’s the difference?
This chapter of Texas law allows qualified physicians to prescribe low-THC cannabis to certain patients with incurable neurodegenerative diseases. In this chapter, “low-THC cannabis” is defined as a cannabis plant or derivative that contains less than .5% of tetrahydrocannabinol by weight. This differs from the definition of “hemp” in HB 1325, which is defined as cannabis plants and derivatives consisting of less than .3% tetrahydrocannabinol by weight.
From a communications perspective, this is a messy problem. A .02 percent difference in THC allowed makes what difference and to whom?
It’s hard for me to understand the fine points. For instance, is CBD from industrial hemp the same as the CBD from marijuana? Do they work exactly the same?
The two plants are both Cannabis and the extractions from each are Cannabidiol (CBD), one of at least 85 active cannabinoids identified within the Cannabis plant.
Oddly, in Texas, you can buy one legally from a retail or online store. The other you need a doctor to prescribe and a dispensary to buy from.
Are the remedies provided truly that different?
