SAN ANTONIO – Conrad Tullis' life has been marked by several struggles. Many could have been resolved with the passing of State Bill 339 on Tuesday.
The bill allows doctors to prescribe a specific type of marijuana oil that could potentially wipe out the multiple seizures he experiences every day.
When Tullis was a toddler, he nearly drowned in a swimming pool, and has been struggling to regain movement and brain activity. His mother has been actively working to increase awareness for his type of brain injury, but has also been fighting alongside other families who are dealing with intractable epilepsy. She hopes to get the one medicine that works on seizures to be approved for use in Texas.
"There were tears. It was so emotional," said Liz Tullis, Conrad Tullis' mother regarding the scene on the House floor when the bill was approved. The cannabis oil bill is controversial simply because it is derived from a type of marijuana plant.
It's a very complex issue, and despite a lot of debate, a majority of lawmakers saw the need for children like Conrad Tullis.
He suffers multiple seizures each day, which are documented at his school in the hopes of finding triggers or trends.
"When you think about when that happens, whether he's in class or whether he's in play, it just stops all the activity, said Liz Tullis. "We have tried 10 different pharmaceuticals and none of them help and some of them even had really bad side effects."
She said those interruptions his therapy are setbacks to his progress. The cannabis oil has been proven to eliminate them entirely, without the undesirable sedation of other meds.
The bill now awaits Gov. Greg Abbott's signature, which some say may not come. Critics of the bill also point to vague language that may force most doctors to avoid prescribing the drug for fear of prosecution for breaking federal law. Still, most believe it's a first step toward medical marijuana approval in Texas. A move many never thought the conservative state of Texas would make.
"We wanted to stay in Texas and we had a lot of skeptics telling us it wasn't going to happen. There was a sense of being proud of being in Texas yesterday," Liz Tullis said.
Liz Tullis considered moving Colorado to be able to get the anti-seizure medicine is not attractive because Conrad Tullis would lose all his doctors and school friends.
For more information on her group which fought for passage of the bill, visit www.cafetx.org.