Meet Kara Zartler. Kara was born with cerebral palsy and later diagnosed with severe Autism. Kara is not the typical person that one would think of when people start to talk about medical marijuana. Cancer patients, PTSD, arthritis, anxiety, and epilepsy amongst other things come to mind when the discussion takes place, but not often is autism brought up. Usually when it is brought up, people discuss the effectiveness of CBD oil as a path of treatment with Autism related seizures. CBD has been shown to treat seizures effectively, but Zara’s case is unique though.

I live in Texas and illegally treat my daughter (Kara) with cannabis. We are telling our story in an effort to change Texas law. Kara has always had a team of doctors. We continue to evaluate her treatment options. She currently takes 5 prescription medicines. We are not anti-doctor. Cannabis is the best medicine, by far, for halting acute behaviors. This video shows a typical treatment and outcome. The treatment is vaporized cannabis. Vapor is not harmful. It is not smoke. High-THC cannabis treatments always work. They stop Kara's acute behaviors 100% of the time. It stabilizes her mood within minutes. Her good mood usually lasts all day.We've observed no developmental slippage or negative side effects. On the contrary, she's made remarkable developmental progress over the last year. Improved awareness and focus. Gains in life skills.

Posted by Mark Zartler on Thursday, February 16, 2017

Kara does not suffer from epilepsy, but rather a behavioral tic causing the self injurious behavior shown in the video her father Mark Zartler recorded and posted online. At age 4, Kara started suffering fits of self-abuse, often smashing her hand into her face. She has broken bones. Her school has recorded her hitting herself 3,000 times in one day; it was considered a good day if she hit under 1,000 times.

In her case CBD would not be effective in treating her disorder. Her family has tried multitudes of prescription medications ordered by Kara’s doctors, as well as occupational and behavioral therapies. There has been only one substance that her family has found that stops Kara’s self-injury within a matter of minutes: cannabis. The effective mode of treatment requires THC to stabilize her mood and treat her behavioral, and not neurological issue.

Kara’s father delivers her treatment by vaporizing the active components of cannabis and giving it to her via inhalation of an oxygen mask. Within minutes Kara becomes calm and stops her self injurious behavior. Over the past years the Zartlers have noticed marked improvements of Kara’s development. She has become more welcoming of cameras taking her picture with the media attention she received and has learned to go to the bathroom on her own, dropping the need for diapers. Kara has made major steps towards being able to live an independent life.

By law though, the Zartlers can’t treat Kara with cannabis in Texas. In Texas, currently the only way to qualify for a CBD or medical cannabis program is to have intractable epilepsy. This means that every prescription drug option for epilepsy has been attempted without success and two doctors agree to prescribe CBD to the patient. On top of that the program is the most restrictive in the country with its low THC requirements. The medical cannabis program in Texas only allows for a 0.5% CBD/THC ratio. This means that even if she were approved under current law for the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), the medicine she would be given would not effectively help her.

The Zartler’s have been summoned to family court in the past to determine Kara’s guardianship over the treatment that her father administers her. When Mark Zartler posted the now viral video of treating his daughter with cannabis, Child Protective services showed up to their doorstep under the notion that the treatment was a form of child abuse. This is considered abuse by the state because Mark is administering an illegal drug to his daughter. This is nothing that any parent should have to suffer through just to ensure that their child gets the best treatment for an illness such as Kara’s. Luckily the judge overseeing the case weighed all of the evidence brought in front of them and decided that she was not being abused and that it was in Kara’s best interest that she stay with her parents as her guardians.

But that doesn’t mean that the Zartlers are out of the woods yet. The fact that they have that type of cannabis on hand to treat Kara still puts them in the crosshairs for police to eventually charge them with a state felony. The 3-month supply the Zartler’s have spoken about puts the family at risk of a 3rd degree felony, which can result in 2 years up to life life in prison. It draws as stark comparison between their actions and other offenses that warrant felony charges. As Mark has stated on his Facebook profile, “manslaughter, murder, aggravated sexual assault. armed robbery, and Kara’s cookies. There is no reasonable explanation for this and there is no good excuse to allow this to continue.”

It’s time we empathise with our fellow citizens that face predicaments such as Kara’s and give them the medical freedom needed to allow one to live an independent life as desired by our country’s founding fathers and the founders of Texas. There are vast numbers of people from children to senior citizens that would benefit from access to cannabis as a medication and be able to live more independent lives in their own homes. This should be a decision between a treating physician and the patient. As Senator Donna Campbell said, “Government shouldn’t be the arbiter of determining which patients are suffering enough to receive treatment.”

If you feel the same way, please visit our Take Action in the 86th Legislature page and reach out to your representative or senator to let them know that you want them to support expanding the TCUP program to allow more qualifying conditions and removing the low THC limit.