Forrest Initiative

James Hall, now six, was diagnosed with autism in June of 2013. Over a year later he was diagnosed with epilepsy, a condition that causes repeated, sudden and brief changes in the brain's electrical activity. His condition was resulting in regular and intese siezures, some lasting over an hour and occuring multiple times throughout the day. After multiple trips to the emergency room, James' mother Paige was desperate for a medical solution. Various pharmaceutical perscriptions helped reduce the length of the epileptic fits, but James was left with intense side effects that altered his mood, emotions and sleep.

After numerous appointments and medication trials, Paige decided to seek out an alternative answer to her son's problem. In October of 2016, Paige signed James up for a medical marijuana card. James was immidiately welcomed to TJ's Gardens Forrest Initiative program. The program provides CBD and THC extracts to familes of children who meet certain medical criteria at no charge. Since the introduction of Cannabis oil as a treatment for James, his seizures have dramatically reduced in length, severity and frequency.

Before being dropped off at his father's house, James enjoyed a day at Skinner's Butte Playground with his mom and service dog Dave

While cannabis oil has shown to be a successful treatment for epilepsy, Paige noted that the THC tincture has dramatically improved James' impulse control, emotional stability and other symptoms associated with his autism.

James peaks around a play structure to check on his service dog and friend Dave. The pair stick next to each other wherever they go.

Dave comforts James in new situations and allows him to be more independent as he runs and plays without the constant need of his mother by his side. "Even when James is taking a bath, Dave will be sitting right next to the tub," Paige says. "They're best friends, they do everything together."

James and Paige enjoy dinner at their home in Springfield, Oregon. Paige, a single mom, works two jobs as a an inventory manager and production worker at a local warehouse to support her family.

After dinner, Paige gives James his medicine in the form of a cannabis oil filled capsule. James takes about 45mg of CBD and THC/THCA oil throughout the day. The CBD helps reduce his seizures while the THC and THCA helps regulate his emotions and impulse control. “He is more able to recognize his own body and calm it down,” Paige said.

A various combination of pharmaceutical and cannabis derived medicines above the kitchen microwave. James is still not entirely pharm-free. He remains on a low dose of his former prescribed treatment along with the CBD, THC and THCA oils.

TJ's Gardens dispensary and grow operation started the Forrest Innitiative in 2014 when owner Travis Mackenzie met a client who made their own alcohol-based CBD extracts to treat their chronic seizures. Mackenzie, who has a science background, recognized that the homemade extracts were not being made correctly or effeciently. He decided to formulate his own tincture for the client and prescribed her to 6mg of CBD oil a day. The client's seizures reduced dramatically from 90 per month to almost none over the first few months of treatment.

Today, TJ's hosts over 140 families in the area supplying them with free cannabis medicine for a variety of ailments, diseases and disorders.

Travis Mackenzie examines the roots of a cannabis clone in one of the 24 growing rooms located in their west-Eugene indoor grow facility.

Mackenzie and his team of growers use a unique growing process that demonstrates the benefits of ecology and biodiversity within the cannabis plant’s soil. Many of the cannabis plant's pots contain a variety of other species such as tomatoes, peas and a community of fungi.

TJ’s CBD formula is a coconut oil based tincture that is made from an ethanol based extraction process. A single CBD plant can yield about 300,000 mg of cannabidiols, equivalent to over 100 years of medication for a single patient.

“When I realized how tiny that dose was, I realized it would be practically free for me to offer this to other people,” Mackenzie says. “My donation really is the labor and the raw materials.”

A finished bottle of TJ's CBD oil.