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Texas medical cannabis program could expand under bill preliminarily OK d by House
Texas Tribune
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The Texas House gave initial approval on Wednesday to a bill that would expand the state’s medical cannabis program to include those with chronic pain, all cancer patients and Texans suffering from PTSD.
House Bill 1535, by Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, who authored the bill establishing Texas’ initial medical cannabis program in 2015, would also authorize the Department of State Health Services to add additional qualifying conditions through administrative rulemaking, instead of the Legislature needing to pass a law to expand eligibility.
Texasâ medical marijuana program is one of the most restrictive in the country. Advocates hope the Legislature will change that. With a new legislative session gaveling in next month, some Texas lawmakers see an opportunity to fix the stateâs medical cannabis program â known as the Compassionate Use Program â by further expanding eligibility and loosening some restrictions. (Source: Patrick Morrissey/Getty Images via The Texas Tribune) By Sami Sparber and Aria Jones | April 28, 2021 at 4:14 PM CDT - Updated April 29 at 1:05 AM
Jan. 4, 2021
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Five years after Texas legalized medical marijuana for people with debilitating illnesses, advocates and industry experts say the stateâs strict rules, red tape and burdensome barriers to entry have left the program largely inaccessible to those it was intended to help.
Texas was often viewed as one of the most restrictive states in terms of medical cannabis, especially in 2015 when it approved the Compassionate Use Program, which covered only one condition – intractable epilepsy – and allowed patients to consume only “low-THC” products (from 0.3% to 0.5% THC) while denying access to smokable cannabis flower and forbidding home cultivation.
Since then, things have changed. Limitations are slowly being removed and new cannabis regulations are under consideration. Just this week, several cannabis-related measures were approved in the House, including a proposal to research the potential of psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA and to expand the state’s medical cannabis program by adding more qualifying conditions to the list, reported Marijuana Moment.
Texas House Passes Bill That Would Expand State’s Medical Cannabis Program By Reese Oxner, The Texas Tribune | April 29, 2021
The Texas House gave approval on April 28 to a bill that would expand the state’s medical cannabis program to include those with chronic pain, all cancer patients and Texans suffering from PTSD.
House Bill 1535, by Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, who authored the bill establishing Texas’ initial medical cannabis program in 2015, would also authorize the Department of State Health Services to add additional qualifying conditions through administrative rulemaking, instead of the Legislature needing to pass a law to expand eligibility.