THC Partners & Press
THC In The News
Feliza discusses Patient Advocacy and Justice For Patients
February 10, 2018 Founder and CEO of The Healing Clinic, Feliza Castro, discusses medical cannabis, patient advocacy, and Justice for Patients, a community based, non-profit organization that has been established to provide legal aid for registered cannabis patients and patient applicants in Illinois.
“The Healing Clinic is a patient advocacy center for patients who qualify for the medical cannabis pilot program in Illinois."
Listen to the podcast on Cannabisradio.com
Medical marijuana info session to be held in Lake In The Hills, IL
August 8, 2016 LAKE IN THE HILLS – McHenry resident Susan Peterson applied for medical marijuana to help with pain caused by her multiple sclerosis.
“The alternatives are pharmaceuticals, and they have side effects,” Peterson said.
The process wasn’t easy, she said, and now she’s organizing an information session so others can have help while going through the process of applying for medical marijuana.
The Healing Clinic, a medical marijuana clinic and patient advocacy center, will lead the presentation from 10 to 11 a.m. Aug. 27 at the Lake in the Hills Fire Station, 1020 W. Algonquin Road, Lake in the Hills.
Read more on The Northwest Herald Website
Medical cannabis and the medical community: Q&A with Dr. Jonathan Spero, M.D.
June 1, 2016 - "After doing some reading and research and meeting with thought leaders, I started seeing patients that were already using cannabis, and I started to realize that this was the real deal — that medical cannabis has an important place in the field of medicine.
I was very, very surprised at how effective it is at treating so many different conditions.
I always tell my patients now that if cannabis had never been discovered, and then in 2015 a botanist went to the Amazon and happened to come across the cannabis plant, that they’d probably get a Nobel Prize for medicine because it’s that powerful of a pharmaceutical."
Read the full story on Extract's website
Medical marijuana advocates happily surprised by Walgreens blog post
May 2, 2016 - Feliza Castro, CEO and founder of The Healing Clinic, a medical marijuana patient advocacy center with offices in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood and Highland Park, said some groups like the Epilepsy Foundation and National Cancer Institute have shared information about the topic, but many have been reluctant to address it.
Castro said she wasn't familiar with Walgreens' post but praised the effort to provide information. Lack of discussion means some patients might not know medical marijuana could be an option, Castro said.
Read more on The Chicago Tribune
Feliza Castro, CEO of The Healing Clinic in the Chicagoland Area
April 20, 2016...on Illinois’ new medicinal cannabis law, how it’s working, what illnesses people are being treated for and 420.
Source: WRJN AM 1400
In Illinois, a cancer diagnosis doesn't guarantee access to medical marijuana
Doctors statewide have been reluctant to prescribe cannabis—even to patients battling serious illnesses
April 13, 2016 - When medical cannabis was legalized in Illinois last November, I thought I was a shoo-in for the program. I'd been undergoing treatment for stage-three Hodgkin's lymphoma for six months, and had already been offered a prescription for the THC supplement Marinol by my physician. I also had symptoms that were supposed to be helped by medical marijuana use: nausea, loss of appetite, and neuropathy. But it wasn't so simple; my quest for the elusive green card has so far taken three physicians, five months, and $450. And I still don't have one.
Read the Chicago reader article here
5 small firms pledge not to fire workers for using medical marijuana
Feb 8, 2016 - Five small companies — a law firm, a real estate services firm, two health care organizations and a nightclub — have announced their intentions to support employees who use medical marijuana. It's a tangled topic across the country, with state laws permitting pot use clashing with federal laws that don't, and employers seeking to balance employee needs and rights against workplace safety.
"The best way to support the nondiscrimination of these employees and to support reasonable HR policies that are inclusive of these patients is to go ahead and announce it," said Jonathan Spero, CEO of InHouse Physicians, one of the companies on Castro's list.
Read the Chicago Tribune article here
Read the Bloomberg edition here
Marijuana Dispensary Now Open In Justice
Jan 16, 2016 - Last Thursday, Windy City Cannabis along with The Healing Clinic, which is a patient advocacy center, held a seminar at the Justice Village Hall to answer questions about the opening of the dispensary, how to obtain certification, concerns from the community and questions in general about medical marijuana.
Read the full article here
Smoke clears on medical marijuana dispensary planned for Worth
Oct 1, 2015 - The stigma attached to the use of medical marijuana to relieve pain for a variety of illnesses appears to be lessening, that is if the reaction of visitors who attended the information session at the Worth Village Hall on Sept. 24 is any indication.
Steve Weisman, chief operating officer of Windy City Cannabis, and Feliza Castro, CEO and founder of The Healing Clinic, addressed a large crowd that had many questions relating to the use of medical cannabis.
Read the full story here.
Who's Advocating For Medical Marijuana Patients?
NOV 9, 2015 - "Feliza Castro says the biggest roadblock is having a doctor who won’t certify the patient. So she founded The Healing Clinic in Chicago to help people find a doctor, connect them with designated caregivers, and act as advocates. Castro has been a medical marijuana patient herself in two other states, so saw the need for advocacy in Illinois.
...Castro thinks the bright side of Illinois’ intense regulation is the quality and consistency that can be expected of the medications."
Read the full story here.
Why medical marijuana can still get you fired in Illinois
AUG 21, 2015 - "With what she sees as little protection from the law, patient advocate Feliza Castro hopes to rally employers to protect their workers. Castro, founder of The Healing Clinic and the nonprofit advocacy group Justice for Patients, said she is partnering with employers that are able to modify their workplace drug policies to make exceptions for medical marijuana patients, in hopes they will set an example for others to follow.
She has lined up companies in health care, law, and food and beverage, and expects to announce them when the dispensaries open. Though it isn't clear when that will be, Castro believes it could be as early as October, when the first cannabis crops are expected to be ready, or as late as January."
Hoosiers crowdfund for marijuana access
“Illinois opted to create a very stringent program for many reasons, for good reasons. They wanted to avoid pitfalls that have been seen in other states that have had a lot looser programs and looser laws with more gray areas. And they wanted to avoid that,”
See the full story here
Chicago Casino Hearings & Call To Expand Illinois MMJ Pilot Program
See minute 3:50 for updates.
See the full story here
Petitioners seek longer disease list for Illinois marijuana
See the full story here
Herbfront: Helping cannabis entrepreneurs to set up shop
Feb 4, 2015: THC Owner, Feliza Castro, weighs in on a new online real estate database for prospective business owners, developed by HerbFront.
An online real estate database but for prospective marijuana dispensary owners.
“Instead of offering quality of schools, neighborhood information, we offer zoning information so that people who use our site can find properly zoned properties for their business,”
Vocalo: The Healing Clinic on Medical Marijuana Patient Advocacy
Feb 3, 2015:
"The medicalization of marijuana has made the drug attractive to a non-traditional user. And here and Illinois, businesses are stepping up to make the application process as easy as possible. The Healing Clinic is one such place and advocate Feliza Castro and Dr. Jennifer Glover join us in studio to talk about the boutique services making money from (and changing policies around) medical marijuana. We begin the segment with the breaking news of Gov. Rauner issuing dispensary licenses in Illinois."
Listen to the full interview here on SoundCloud, or click play below.
Skyline: Healing clinic blazes the way for those in need of medicinal marijuana
December 10, 2014:
“I was living and working in Chicago when Gov. Quinn passed the bill and decided to create a patient-centered organization here, to help people understand and apply a law that was enacted for them.” She said she hopes the clinic will make a positive impact. “We are doing this to help people and to contribute to the progress of the medical cannabis evolution that is happening right now,” said Castro.
THC Partners
Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago
Created in 1946 as a grassroots effort in Illinois to help people with epilepsy, the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago is a not-for-profit, incorporated in Illinois, serving 43 counties, offering counseling, advocacy and educational services to people with epilepsy, their families, and the communities in which they live.
HerbFront
HerbFront is the world's first real estate exchange platform exclusively for the legal cannabis market and zoning research.
Search any listed property nationwide using industry-relevant criteria.
Search verified properties, that have been prescreened to conform to current zoning laws.
Find out more at https://herbfront.com
Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Southern Illinois
"The mission of the Epilepsy Foundation is to stop seizures and SUDEP, find a cure and overcome the challenges created by epilepsy through efforts including education, advocacy and research to accelerate ideas into therapies."
