AUSTIN, TX (KXAN/CNN) – The Texas Public Safety Commission has approved new rules regulating the distribution of medical cannabis oil to epilepsy patients.
Families waiting for dispensaries to open in the state praised the move.
It’s another Christmas for Terri Carriker and her children, including 13-year-old Catherine.
“Our whole family’s life was hijacked by Catherine’s epilepsy,” Carriker said.
Some days are worse than others.
“We live every day with the possibility that this could be the last day with her,” Carriker said.
A sudden surge of activity in the brain causes seizures, which can leave permanent mental and physical damage.
“I don’t think I have words. Devastating. It’s devastating,” Carriker said.
She hopes future Christmases will be different for her daughter and her family, which is a possibility now that medical cannabis is legal in her state.
“It is historic, and we’re glad as part of the commission to be a part of that,” said Texas Public Safety Chair Cindy Leon.
The Public Safety Commission approved DPS rules lawmakers passed with the Compassionate Use Act.
The real-world process for medical cannabis oil can begin.
“We hope it works well for those people. We’re a compassionate organization. We’re a compassionate state,” Leon said.
Years of trying drug after drug have wreaked havoc on Catherine’s liver, and her family hopes medical cannabis can allow them to celebrate a brighter future.
“Normalize our life as a family a little bit,” Carriker said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has to license three dispensing organizations by Sept. 1, 2017.
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