The
House of Representatives this week approved a bill to expand the state’s medical marijuana compassionate use program. The measure, House Bill 1805, was passed by members of the House by a vote of 127-19 on Wednesday after receiving preliminary approval in the chamber one day earlier. The bipartisan bill from Republican Rep. Stephanie Klick, the chair of the House Public Health Committee, now heads to the Texas state Senate for consideration.If passed by the upper chamber of the Texas legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott,
(HB 1805) would legalize more potent medicinal cannabis products than currently allowed and open the state’s program, one of the nation’s strictest, to more patients. The measure would scrap the current 1% cap on for cannabis products and replace it with a 10-milligram maximum dose.Texas Medical Marijuana Bill Adds Chronic Pain as Qualifying Condition
The legislation would also add chronic pain as a qualifying condition to use medical marijuana, giving patients a new alternative to powerful but risky opioid painkillers. The bill brings the number of qualifying conditions for the state’s compassionate use program to 10 and allows the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to add new qualifying conditions to the program through the agency’s rule-making process.
“My intent then and still is to have a truly medical program that follows the scientific data,”
, who also sponsored the legislation that originally created the state’s compassionate use program.HB 1805 was unanimously approved without vocal opposition in the Public Health Committee last month. The measure was approved without debate on the House floor this week and will now head to the Texas Senate, where opposition from Republican leaders has killed many previous efforts to reform the state’s cannabis policy.
Currently, only patients with
, multiple sclerosis, seizure disorders, spasticity, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism, terminal cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or incurable neurodegenerative diseases are permitted to use low-THC medical marijuana formulations under the state’s limited compassionate use program, although smoking cannabis is not allowed. Patients must also be Texas residents and receive a recommendation to use medical marijuana from a healthcare professional approved by the DSHS.Patient Calls For Passage of HB 1805
Elizabeth Miller, a Texas resident who has a joint disease known as hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, testified at last month’s hearing of the House Public Health Committee, telling lawmakers that the state should include more illnesses as conditions that qualify a patient to use medical marijuana. She said that the state program is “overly narrow and leaves out many Texans who would benefit from cannabis as medicine,” including patients such as herself,
from the Houston Chronicle. She added that the current regulations leave her “stuck using” cannabis from the illicit market to treat her condition, adding that smoking marijuana is the only way she has found relief from the painful symptoms caused by her condition.If passed by the Texas Senate, the bill would also have to be signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who opposes legalizing recreational marijuana but has indicated support for decriminalizing cannabis. In 2021, the governor signed a previous medical marijuana expansion bill that added
as a qualifying condition and doubled the maximum THC potency for medicinal cannabis products.“One thing that I believe in, and I believe the state Legislature believes in, and that is prison and jail is a place for dangerous criminals who may harm others,”
while campaigning for re-election last year. “Small possession of marijuana is not the type of violation that we want to stockpile jails with.”HB 1805 is not the only cannabis policy reform bill currently making its way through the Texas state legislature. HB 218, a proposal unanimously approved by a House legislative committee month, would decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis. Another measure, HB 1937, would allow counties and municipalities to legalize recreational marijuana at the local level. Of all the proposed legislation, Klick’s bill, which enjoys broad Republican support, is most likely to gain the approval of Texas state lawmakers.