(AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
(CN) Drug reform is seeing some wins after an otherwise conservative Texas legislative session. The Republican-controlled statehouse this year passed a range of modest reform measures, proving that even in right-wing states, some politicians are moving beyond the war on drugs.
Unless Republican Governor Greg Abbott vetoes the bills and observers don’t expect he will Texas will soon expand its medical cannabis program, allowing for new conditions and raising the caps on THC, the main active component in marijuana. Lawmakers also agreed to study several federally controlled drugs including psilocybin, ketamine and MDMA and their effects on veterans with post-traumatic stress.
House Bill 1535 expands eligibility for the Texas Compassionate Use Program to people with cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder. The Senate stripped out a provision that would’ve allowed any Texan with chronic pain to access medical marijuana.
A watered-down expansion of Texas’ medical marijuana program is headed to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott after the state House voted to accept significant.