Matthew McConaughey Gets a Movie Fund, You Get No Pain Relief. By The Barbed Wire.

Hey there, fellow summer dreaders, I’m The Barbed Wire senior editor Brian Gaar. Welcome back to Texas, where freedom means you can pick your BBQ sauce, but not your pain relief. 

This week, we’re talking THC bans, Hollywood handouts, the WNBA’s newest budding star in Dallas, and more!

First up, the Texas House and Senate have voted to ban all hemp-derived THC products, because apparently the scariest thing lawmakers can imagine is someone relaxing with a gummy instead of a gun. If you like legal pain relief, better stock up — because nothing says liberty like criminalizing cannabinoids.

Oh and speaking of the Lege, our lawmakers also passed a celebrity-backed bill promising a decade of taxpayer cash to lure film crews and stars to Lone Star sets. The Matthew McConaughey-approved “film incentive bill” would spend $300-500 million every two years, depending on whether it’s the House or Senate version, to attract filmmakers to the state.

Meanwhile, the WNBA’s Dallas Wings might be off to a rocky start, but former college phenom Paige Bueckers is quietly building the kind of chemistry and skills that scream future superstar. With clutch passes, rising stats, and rookie poise, Buckers is proving that greatness takes time — and Dallas fans should buckle up for the ride.

And finally, after a heartbreaking loss, University of Texas at Austin students launched a nonprofit to tackle mental health stigma in South Asian communities — starting with tough conversations and a mom-approved card game. Now their “Heal Forward” campaign is going national, proving that even a small shift in mindset can spark real change.

A Murder-Suicide Pushed UT Students to Start a Mental Health Group for South Asian Americans. Now They’re Going National

The Mental Health Initiative for South Asians launched its Heal Forward campaign this Mental Health Awareness Month to encourage conversations about intergenerational healing and wellness among families.

By Angela Lim

When the Mental Health Initiative for South Asians hosted its first workshop in 2023, over 30 parents gathered at Radha Madhav Dham, a Hindu temple in Austin. It was the first time some attendees shared their families’ experiences with South Asian American community members. Guided by student facilitators, they learned how to start talking about mental health with their children.

After the workshop, a group of parents approached the students to express their gratitude.

“They were like, ‘You have to do this,’” Ravi Parekh, the nonprofit organization’s co-founder, told The Barbed Wire. “‘You have to come here and continue doing this.’”

Moments like this encourage Parekh and co-founder Aaron Pandian to continue their work with the Mental Health Initiative for South Asians, which aims to destigmatize mental health and reduce barriers to accessing care in the South Asian American community through culturally relevant resources and research. The initiative began as a student organization at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022 after the co-founders’ close friend and roommate Farhan Towhid took his life and the lives of his family in a murder-suicide during their freshman year.

When Pandian and Parekh read through Towhid’s journal during the week of his funeral in April 2021, they learned that his parents didn’t know how to best support him through his mental health struggles. Parekh said this matched a larger gap they saw while working to establish the student organization. Growing up, Parekh noticed that his South Asian American community emphasized saving face and often placed high expectations on the younger generation to succeed.

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