Texas Expands Medical Marijuana Program
The Texas House has passed a bill aimed at expanding the state’s medical marijuana program, known as the Compassionate-Use Program. The legislation, House Bill 46, would allow patients to use low-THC cannabis products, including patches, lotions, inhalers, and vapes, if a physician determines it is medically necessary.
The bill would also expand the program to include honorably discharged veterans, individuals with chronic pain, glaucoma, traumatic brain injury, spinal neuropathy, Crohn’s disease, degenerative disc disease, and patients with a terminal illness or receiving hospice or palliative care.
Additionally, the bill would improve access to dispensaries by allowing 11 licensed dispensaries in 11 regions across Texas and permitting them to operate satellite locations with state approval.
The bill’s authors, Reps. Ken King and Penny Morales Shaw, argued that the current program is limited, with too few dispensing organizations licensed in the state, making it difficult for patients to access the medicine they need.
The bill now faces an uncertain fate in the Texas Senate, where it will be considered as Senate Bill 1505. If passed, the legislation would mark a significant expansion of Texas’ medical marijuana program, which was first established in 2015 to allow doctors to prescribe low-THC marijuana for patients with epilepsy.
