Texas Senate passes medical marijuana expansion bill

AUSTIN – The Texas Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to a law expanding the Texas medical marijuana program to include all forms of PTSD and cancer, despite significant changes due to committee replacement.

Though the proposal flew around the house with bilateral support, it appeared doomed as it went into the final week of the session without a scheduled hearing. The Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday brought up the proposal from Fort Worth Republican MP Stephanie Klick and quickly approved it 8-0.

However, the bill was not passed unscathed to the entire Senate. As originally submitted, the bill proposed increasing the THC limit from 0.5% to 5%, but a committee representative from Senator Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, lowered the limit back to 1%.

The replacement specifically chose to cut back on a group of Texans originally included in the proposed expansion: people with chronic pain who would otherwise be treated with an opioid. Texans with PTSD and all forms of cancer are still included and would be included in the state’s medical use program if passed and signed by Governor Greg Abbott.

With final Senate approval, the House must now approve the Senate’s changes before sending it to the Governor.

Morris Denton, CEO of the medical cannabis company Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, was both grateful for the committee’s actions on the bill and disappointed with the major changes.

“We are pleased that the bill is still making progress,” said Denton. “As big believers in the medicine this plant can make, we are of course disappointed to see that they have left out the millions of Texans suffering from chronic pain whose only real option is opioids, over-the-counter pain relievers, or being forced to take them go to the illegal market to self-medicate. “

Denton said removing Texans with chronic pain from the proposal was a “step in the wrong direction,” but said overall progress was a good thing.

Medical marijuana advocates are delighted with some of the provisions included in the Senate bill as a whole, and the fact that she is still alive, especially with the Senate facing a Wednesday deadline to consider billing.

Schwertner said the replacement had been helped by other lawmakers in how aggressive the state should be to take the next step in expansion.

“As a pharmacist and a doctor, I firmly believe that our limited medical program, with proper rules and supervision, is the way to go for patients in Texas looking for symptom relief,” said Schwertner. “I think the evidence is starting to show this. I believe there is more work to be done, but the testimony of patients suffering from some of these diseases is certainly very strong. “

A provision that remains in the bill would create a medical cannabis research program under the Texas Health Human Services.

As originally submitted, Klick’s proposal included PTSD, but veterans only. Then in April dozens of Texans came to a hearing on the House Public Health Committee, where many asked when their PTSD will qualify them for the program.

“My PTSD is no different from a firefighter or a police officer with PTSD or someone who has been molested or sexually assaulted,” said David Bass, a 25-year-old veteran, during a public hearing. “Your symptoms and experiences are the same as mine.”

Klick then responded to a change three weeks later to include all forms of PTSD.

Aside from excluding patients with chronic pain, Denton found that there is no real limit to the amount of THC a doctor can prescribe under this bill, which limits THC levels based on percentage rather than milligrams .

During the in-house public hearing, several Texans expressed a similar concern, stating that the current 0.5% THC limit only forced them to buy and use more products, such as carrier oil, in order to meet their prescribed dosage. While there is still a slight percentage increase in THC in the scrap replacement, Denton said that still doesn’t solve the problem.

“It’s like saying, instead of just taking two Advils for your headache, you have to take 20 to treat your headache,” Denton said. “Imagine if you thought about ibuprofen the same way you thought about THC.”

Denton pointed to a The most recent law was passed in Alabama, which initially limits daily dosages to 50 milligrams.

“So limit it,” said Denton. “Imposing a weight percentage threshold actually does more harm than good.

Denton said that as a company serving patients across the state, they don’t believe in moral victories, adding that people with chronic pain deserve to qualify for this program as much as those currently included.

He also said doctors shouldn’t be restricted by lawmakers on how to prescribe drugs, including medical marijuana.

“It should be a medical program controlled by the medical community, which means the doctor should be in the driver’s seat, not the legislature,” Denton said.

The Texas Compassionate Use Program was launched in 2015, although its narrow focus only included patients with difficult-to-treat epilepsy. Two years ago, another Klick bill expanded the program to include people with seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis and end-stage cancer, among others.