On June 21st, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a medical cannabis expansion bill (HB 46) into law, making Texas the 40th state to legalize marijuana for medicinal use.
The final version of HB46 includes several improvements to the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP). Previously, TCUP was an extremely limited, restrictive, low-THC medical marijuana program that didn’t meet the Marijuana Policy Project’s standard to be considered a medical marijuana state.
“For too long, the existing Texas Compassionate Use Program has been severely limited, leaving countless Texans without the relief they desperately need,” said Kevin Caldwell, Southeast Legislative Manager at the Marijuana Policy Project. “Texans have spoken, and their voices have been heard. HB 46 will expand access to medical marijuana, a relatively safe and effective treatment option that has long been sought by patients suffering from pain and several other serious medical conditions.”
The improvements to TCUP include adding chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, and traumatic brain injury as qualifying conditions, and adding methods of delivery to include lotions, patches, suppositories, pulmonary inhalation with approved nebulizers, inhalers, and vaporizers (when directed by a doctor).
The bill also requires The Department of Public Safety to issue 12 more licenses for dispensing organizations (for a total of 15 total). Dispensing organizations must become operational within 24 months after the license is issued. A full summary of HB 46 is available here.
With the addition of Texas, 40 states and Washington, D.C. now have workable medical marijuana laws. Polling consistently shows that the vast majority of Americans support allowing seriously ill patients to use cannabis for medical purposes with their doctors’ approval.