Compassionate Care Act of 2015 in Texas Discriminates Against Veterans

On June 1, 2015 the Compassionate Care Act of 2015 was signed into effect by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. This Act states the following:

CHAPTER 169. AUTHORITY TO PRESCRIBE LOW-THC CANNABIS TO CERTAIN
	PATIENTS FOR COMPASSIONATE USE
	Sec. 169.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
	(1)  “Department” means the Department of Public
	Safety.
	(2)  “Intractable epilepsy” means a seizure disorder in
	which the patient’s seizures have been treated by two or more
	appropriately chosen and maximally titrated antiepileptic drugs
	that have failed to control the seizures.
	(3)“Low-THC cannabis” means the plant Cannabis sativa
	L., and any part of that plant or any compound, manufacture, salt,
	derivative, mixture, preparation, resin, or oil of that plant that
	contains:
	(A)  not more than 0.5 percent by weight of
	tetrahydrocannabinols; and
	(B)not less than 10 percent by weight of
	cannabidiol.
	(4)“Medical use” means the ingestion by a means of
	administration other than by smoking of a prescribed amount of
	low-THC cannabis by a person for whom low-THC cannabis is
	prescribed under this chapter.
	(5)  “Smoking” means burning or igniting a substance
	and inhaling the smoke.

This Act is rare in it’s wording due to 2 words: prescription (rather than medical recommendation wording used in other states)  and Intractable epilepsy which is the only condition one can have that will qualify someone for this “prescription.”

Greg Abbott is a paraplegic and uses a wheel chair to aid in his mobility.

At age 26, Abbott was partially paralyzed in a freak accident and bedridden for a month. His dream to practice law withered. – Accident set Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on a path toward politics

As someone with daily limitations to his movement, one would imagine that his empathetic abilities towards others with disabilities would be higher than most other politicians. However this “Compassionate Care Act” DOES NOT include the “disabilities” of most Veterans which can include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s
2. Strokes
3. Glutamate toxicity
4. Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
5. Parkinson’s disease
6. Neurodegeneration caused by alcohol abuse
7. Central and peripheral neuropathic pain
8. Rheumatoid arthritis
9. Cancer pain

10. ….randomized clinical trial reporting clinical improvement in patients with schizophrenia treated with CBD.

11. CBD reduced anxiety in patients with social anxiety subjected to a stressful public speaking task.

12. CBD reduced the rewarding effects of morphine…..

13. ……there are also several pre-clinical reports showing anti-tumor effects of CBD in cell culture and in animal models.xxviii These studies have found reduced cell viability, increased cancer cell death, decreased tumor growth, and inhibition of metastasis (reviewed in McAllister et al, 2015).xxix These effects may be due to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of CBD;xxx however these findings have not yet been explored in human patients. – The Biology and Potential Therapeutic Effects of Cannabidiol (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

What the above information spells out is that a Governor with disabilities has constructed a Bill that became law which DISCRIMINATES against every Veteran who suffers from (*to include but not limited to) the above mentioned symptoms, thus violating The Americans with Disabilities Act title II, subtitle A, of the ADA which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all services, programs, and activities provided to the public by State and local governments, except public transportation services.

Please go online to the ADA website and file a formal complaint against any bill in your state that also discriminates against your disabilities as a Veteran. Together we can change how the very laws that we swore to protect will in turn protect our rights to equal access to any “medication” that will help us live FREE.