With each state updating their marijuana laws each year, it can be difficult navigating through those changes. We wanted to make things easy for you, so we put together the most recent updates on the Texas Marijuana Laws in one place. Learn more below!
Status: Mixed
Decriminalized: No
Medical: CBD Oil
Little Change Made this Session; Cannabis Reform Grows in Texas
Even though there were small victories this session, Texas adjourned without passing any major changes on marijuana reform.
During the 2019 session, Texas expanded its medical cannabis program by passing HB-3703. This new bill added new qualifying conditions to the medical program including: ALS, MS, Terminal Cancer, Spasticity, Autism, Incurable Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Epilepsy.
It’s great news to see Texas expanding the medical conditions list, but they still haven’t raised the 0.5% cap on THC for medical patients. This is the biggest barrier for patients to get the relief they need from marijuana.
Furthermore, a bill to expand Texas’ medical cannabis program (HB-1365) passed through the House, but unfortunately wasn’t heard in the Senate. Likewise, the bill to decriminalize marijuana (HB-63) was also passed through the House, but not the Senate.
The Texas Medical Cannabis Program Launched; Helps Very Few People.
In 2018, the first sales for Texas’ low-THC medical marijuana began, thanks to the Compassionate Use Program. While this program is most certainly helping people, it’s limited, flawed, and leaves many patients that could use cannabis, behind.
The only patients that could participate in the program were those suffering from serious conditions leading to seizures. This left behind a massive number of people, such as those suffering from PTSD, Cancer, or even those reliant on opiates.
While they did improve the medial marijuana program in 2019, it still remains flawed. The law is putting physicians at risk for writing medical marijuana prescriptions. Under federal law, medical marijuana prescriptions are illegal, this puts the doctors in danger. Not only that, but they are also limited to supplying patients with Low-THC marijuana.
Lastly, there are only 3 companies in the entire state of Texas that are legally allowed to grow, process, and sell medical marijuana to patients that qualify.
Hopefully next session will bring about better change for Texas marijuana reform. Unfortunately the legislature won’t reconvene until 2021.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Texas Marijuana Laws in the near future!
