GEORGETOWN, Texas (Nexstar) — Roger Galpin’s mother Iona was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2021. Roger noticed she was mixing up or forgetting parts of memories. In 2022, he decided to move Iona to Georgetown Living, a senior facility for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
“She settled in wonderfully here, fantastically,” Galpin said. “She was quite content.”
But in 2023, Iona took a turn for the worse.
“She was becoming more combative,” Galpin said. “She seemed more constantly anxious, not happy with her surroundings, paranoid, and had a lot of delusional thinking.”
Galpin said Iona began refusing to sleep in her bed, thinking people were sleeping there during the day. He said she also began feeling like the staff at the facility were going to hurt her, and she refused to eat. Galpin said his mother also began verbally berating the staff as she became more agitated and anxious.
He said they explored using antidepressant medication for his mother, but were too concerned about the side effects — including interfering with her balance. One appetite-boosting medication they tried left her lethargic and drowsy. Then, he heard about Delta-9 THC as a potential treatment, one which he could obtain from local shops near Iona’s care facility. Starting out with a daily dose of 7.5 milligrams but eventually moving up to 15, Galpin said the difference was striking.
Taking a chocolate bar called Xite twice daily, Iona’s anxiety was reduced, her appetite improved and she became more content — even sleeping in bed again. Galpin said his mother’s general demeanor improved, and as a former cheerleader, she gets particularly excited when local cheerleaders stop by.
“We’ll come in to see her and see her sitting on the couch singing to herself. We get pictures and videos of her all the time when they bring in dance groups, cheerleading groups…she gets so excited,” Galpin said. “She’s just all around been a much more content person, and her caregivers are able to work with her much more easily.”
But if Gov. Greg Abbott does not veto Senate Bill 3, the treatment Iona receives would be illegal come September.
The bill was passed in the Senate and House, championed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who says SB 3 will protect children and adults from dangerous hemp-derived THC products, currently legal under U.S. and Texas law. Opponents of the bill said that it will cost the state thousands of jobs and will prevent some adults from accessing life-changing treatment for their medical conditions.
A letter sent to Abbott Wednesday from a group of experts called on the governor to sign SB 3 into law, citing a 495% increase in marijuana-related calls to poison control for young children, and the involvement of alcohol or cannabis in a quarter of crash fatalities for those 25 and younger.
Galpin said if the concern is about safety, the state should regulate the product, not ban it outright. He pointed out that minors can not purchase the product in stores because it is only available to those 21 or older.
“I don’t understand what the concerns are for safety and use of it. I’m not so concerned about whether she’s getting exactly 15 milligrams or 13 milligrams. It’s working, and it’s working for her and others that I hear at Georgetown Living using it,” Galpin said.
A 2023 study found that Delta-8 THC could be a “neuroprotective agent” in Alzheimer’s and other similar diseases.
“The results suggested that Delta-8 THC may represent a novel neuroprotective agent in AD but also in other neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of misfolded proteins,” the researchers wrote.
Obtaining Delta-9 under current laws is not the only option for Iona — the Texas Compassionate Use Program allows individuals with certain medical conditions, including autism, epilepsy and incurable neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s to access medical marijuana through approved providers. Iona would be eligible for treatment under the program, but Galpin said there are hurdles that make it a less feasible option.
The hurdles, Galpin said, include a $600 per year concierge service, doctors visits which are not covered by Medicare and consultations every three to six months in south Austin — around an hour away from Georgetown. Galpin said while his mother is mobile and more able bodied, other patients are not, making transporting them for appointments very difficult. He added that while tele-health visits are now available, they come at an added cost.
“People with dementia get stressed when they don’t understand where they are, where they’re going, what’s going on,” Galpin said. “And the longer the appointment takes, the longer the drive, the more stressed and anxious they become, and that’s why so many of these places now have the options for in-home visits.”
As the governor prepares to make his decision, Galpin reached out to Abbott’s office expressing his discontent with SB 3, and said he received a response which said the governor is considering all bills passed by the legislature ahead of Sunday’s deadline. His message now to the governor is to veto the bill to avoid adding additional barriers for Alzheimer’s patients.
“People living with dementia and Alzheimer’s have it tough enough … the family members, the caregivers, have enough difficulties as well,” Galpin said. “I would just appeal to him to veto SB 3 and not allow additional burdens and obstacles to be layered upon.”
For now, Galpin said Iona will continue her treatment at Georgetown Living, grateful for what she has. As she joined Galpin, she smiled, laughed and danced with a Snoopy stuffed animal, telling her son how grateful she was for his company.