‘Growing Warriors’ Turns Veterans Into Farmers

Fred-Curtis Lewis prepares for farm work with veterans. All photos: Growing Warriors Project

Fred-Curtis Lewis prepares for farm work with veterans. Photo: Growing Warriors Project

As hemp production begins to make waves through the US, a number of organizations and new companies have sought out this opportunity to make a difference. The Growing Warriors Project is just one of the many organizations now taking advantage of this amazing crop to make a difference around the world.

The Growing Warriors Project is a program to train, assist, and equip veteran families with the skills, tools, and supplies needed to grow high quality naturally grown produce for their families, their communities, and their country. The stories of those involved in this project continue to inspire and hopefully push forward some of the laws, regulations, and innovation around hemp in the US.

When Fred-Curtis Lewis returned from multiple tours of Afghanistan and Iraq with a traumatic brain injury in 2009,his brother Mike, a farmers’ advocate, was desperate to help him. On top of his injury, Fred-Curtis was having difficulty adapting to civilian life, and by his own admission, he was “lost.”

Watching his brother struggle, Mike Lewis resolved to channel his passion for agriculture—he’d already made a name for himself lobbying on behalf of nonprofits such as Community Farm Alliance and Farm Aid—into founding the Growing Warriors Project in rural Kentucky in 2012.

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Study Highlighting Effectiveness of CBD in Cancer Gives Boost to Fight Across the Nation

An effort to bring a form of medical marijuana to Georgia spearheaded by Peake continues to move forward, but hurdles remain as lawmakers begin drafting legislation to introduce next year.

An effort to bring a form of medical marijuana to Georgia spearheaded by State Rep. Allen Peake continues to move forward, but hurdles remain as lawmakers begin drafting legislation to introduce next year.

It is an unfortunate reality that some families across the nation continue to sit and hope for a solution to obtaining a medicine that is currently illegal in their state. In Nebraska, residents continue to fight for the ability to legally obtain CBD oil; however, they are now properly armed with numerous studies released regularly that demonstrate that CBD can help those suffering from devastating seizures, epilepsy, and other debilitating illnesses.

Last Friday, Nebraska residents came out to tell their personal stories in front of lawmakers, bringing with them a wide range of powerful emotions and insight into what it’s like living without access to cannabidiol.

Jennifer Anton’s brother has been suffering from seizures for 37 years.

“We don’t want to go to prison for going to Colorado and bringing back medicine to help him with. We’re just here to show support and pray to God that something will help us, help my family, help my brother through all of this.” Anton says.

He’s been on many different medications, but nothing seems to work. Suffering from migraines every single day.

“We just feel desperate for help. He’s busted open his head more times than I can even imagine.” Anton adds.

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Progress Marches On For CBD Across The Country

Dustin Chandler of the Birmingham area holds his 3-year-old daughter, Carly, next to Gov. Robert Bentley during a gathering at Pelham City Hall on July 22, 2014, in celebration of the passage of Carly's Law. Families with children who could benefit from the marijuana-derived oil to treat seizures also attended.

Dustin Chandler of the Birmingham area holds his 3-year-old daughter, Carly, next to Gov. Robert Bentley during a gathering at Pelham City Hall on July 22, 2014, in celebration of the passage of Carly’s Law.

As another week passes, the understanding of CBD on a global level progresses. To understand the importance of this progress, one only needs to look towards families in Oklahoma who continue to make some of the most difficult decisions of their lives for the health and well-being of their children.

Five-year-old Olivia and her mom Hillary Rayburn moved to Colorado Springs in search of a solution to Olivia’s daily seizures. Oklahoma’s News9 highlights the challenges Oklahoma families continue to face in accessing CBD.

One year ago, Zoey Johnson couldn’t talk and could barely walk. She was having seizures all the time and her family had run out of options.

“It was at the point that if we didn’t try it, she could have died,” said Mallory Johnson, Zoey’s mother.

That “it” is Charlotte’s Web, a sativa marijuana strain with medical potency due to its high-CBD content. This strain was specifically cultivated by Colorado breeders The Stanley Brothers for a young epileptic patient named Charlotte.

Johnson gave it to her daughter for the first time about a year ago.

“In that first eight days she said 20 new words and wrote her name,” Johnson said.

This was one of the first effective strains bred with little to no psychoactive effects. However, due to its source from marijuana, families across the country have been forced to pack up and make a life changing decision to chase after it in one of the states where marijuana is legal.

“Still, for dozens of other families in Oklahoma, financial and employment considerations make moving difficult. Their best hope is a change in attitude in the legislature, which seems to be happening.” As these stories continue to grow, lawmakers in Oklahoma are considering allowing medical trials of CBD oil for children with seizures.

“However, Zoey and Olivia’s families say they’re headed west. They found something better than gold in the mountains and they’re not coming back.”

Despite these challenges, there is strong progress and awareness being pushed forward across the nation from Alabama to Utah. The University of Alabama at Birmingham is moving forward with a study using marijuana-derived cannabidiol with a focus on children and adults with severe seizure disorders. While they are still awaiting federal permission, information from the UAB Cannabidiol Program states there “will be no charge to patients for CBD or for participation in the trial, but they will need to continue to see their regular primary care physician and neurologist.”

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Georgia Family Travels To Colorado For Treatment Of Daughter’s Seizures

A Forsyth, Georgia mother says her daughter’s health is improving every day since they moved to Colorado to start medical treatment that is illegal in the Peach State. Janea Cox tells 41NBC cannabis oil is giving Haleigh a second chance at life and she will do whatever it takes to help her child. Even if Read more about Georgia Family Travels To Colorado For Treatment Of Daughter’s Seizures[…]

The First Year Of Legal Hemp In Colorado Proves Difficult For Farmers

The United States has had a love-hate relationship with Cannabis, the genus encompassing both hemp and marijuana. In 1937, Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act, which effectively began hemp prohibition, as the tax and licensing regulations made cultivation difficult. The bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War II, however, was a game-changer. It cut off Read more about The First Year Of Legal Hemp In Colorado Proves Difficult For Farmers[…]

Child Who Inspired South Carolina’s Cannabidiol Law Takes First Dose

It took only a simple phrase to see how Mary Louise Swing’s life would improve from cannabidiol. On vacation with family in Myrtle Beach last weekend, Mary Louise stunned her mother, Jill, and a roomful of relatives with a simple “Hi everybody” as she got out of bed. For 6-year-old Mary Louise, who suffers from Read more about Child Who Inspired South Carolina’s Cannabidiol Law Takes First Dose[…]

Medicinal Marijuana And Access To CBD For Millions Hangs in Balance Tuesday

Seth Hyman has worked tirelessly for the past three years to get medical marijuana on the ballot so his daughter could have a fighting chance. “I don’t think the facts are being shared with the public and it’s not fair to the patients,” Hyman said. Hyman’s little girl, Rebecca, is developmentally disabled and has intractable Read more about Medicinal Marijuana And Access To CBD For Millions Hangs in Balance Tuesday[…]

New Documentary Highlights Fight In Georgia For Access To CBD Oil

A new documentary will be released this week that follows the fight in Georgia to provide medical cannabis to children suffering from various forms of Epilepsy, as well as other Georgia patients who would benefit from the medicinal use of cannabis oil. State Representatives Allen Peake (R-Macon) and Micah Gravely (R-Douglasville) today announced the premiere Read more about New Documentary Highlights Fight In Georgia For Access To CBD Oil[…]