How to navigate the confusing Texas medical marijuana laws

SAN ANTONIO — Texas legislatures voted this year to expand access to medicinal marijuana to those living with cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The new law that went into effect last month also doubles the percent of THC allowed in products to 1 percent.

Even with the expansion to access, Texas’ medical marijuana laws can be confusing.

Heather Fazio, the director of the advocacy group Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, spoke to the Express-News about how to navigate one of the most restrictive medical marijuana laws in the United States.

The mother cannabis plants that Texas Original Compassion Cultivation uses to clone its plants are shown in the photo. 

The mother cannabis plants that Texas Original Compassion Cultivation uses to clone its plants are shown in the photo. 

Jessica Phelps/San Antonio Express-News

Eligibility

Lawmakers first passed the state’s Compassionate Use Act in 2015 for people suffering from intractable epilepsy and expanded the program to cover terminal cancer and disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease in 2019. 

As of Sept. 1, you’re eligible for medical marijuana if you have the following conditions: epilepsy, autism, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, cancer or PTSD. 

You also have to be a permanent resident of Texas. There are no age limitations but patients under 18 may require a legal guardian. 
Patients who suffer from chronic pain do not qualify for medical marijuana in Texas. 

During this year’s legislative session, advocates sought to further amend the law to include eligibility for chronic pain patients and to raise the THC cap to 5 percent. House lawmakers agreed to the additional changes but members in the Senate removed those provisions. 

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Prescription policy

If you’re eligible, you have access to medical marijuana through the state’s compassionate use program. That program is run by the Texas Department of Public Safety and has strict guidelines for how to get a prescription and its use. 

In Texas, you cannot go to your general practitioner to get medical marijauna. You must first go to a certified physician specializing in your medical condition. That doctor must determine that the “risk of the medical use of low-THC cannabis by the patient is reasonable in light of the potential benefit.” A second physician then must agree with the first doctor’s assessment before you can be added to the compassionate use registry database. 

It’s important to remember that only physicians specializing in your medical condition who belong to the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas can assess whether you’re qualified to use medical marijuana. There are only 181 such doctors in the registry statewide. 

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Texas Original Compassion Cultivation in Austin is one of only three in the state allowed to grow cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Texas Original Compassion Cultivation in Austin is one of only three in the state allowed to grow cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Texas Original Compassion Cultivation

Access to dispensaries are limited 

When lawmakers passed the Compassionate Use Act in 2015, they required DPS to provide licenses to three dispensaries. However, as of October, there are only two in operation and they’re both in central Texas, posing a problem for those living in places such as El Paso, Fazio said. 

These dispensaries are required to either deliver prescriptions to you or for you to pick them up, creating a barrier for medical marijuana users, Fazio said. Sometimes dispensaries are able to set up “pop-up-style” pickups in doctors offices, but dispensaries aren’t allowed to open up brick and mortar dispensaries with inventory elsewhere in the state. 

“If you ran out of your medicine and you need it now, you can’t just run up the street and have your prescription filled right away,” Fazio said. 

A tincture made by Texas Original Compassion Cultivation at its medical marijuana dispensary outside of Austin.

A tincture made by Texas Original Compassion Cultivation at its medical marijuana dispensary outside of Austin.

Jessica Phelps/San Antonio Express-News

The products

In Texas, you’re only allowed to use “low-THC cannabis,” which is the component of marijuana plants that causes psychological effects, including the sensation of being high.

It can be consumed in a variety of ways, including smoking, swallowing capsules and eating edibles and consuming oils. All but smoking is permitted in Texas. 

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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/How-to-navigate-Texas-medical-marijuana-laws-16519034.php

Christin Hakim

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