A bill expanding Texas’ medical marijuana program is headed to the Texas Senate.
Rep. Stephanie Klick, a Fort Worth Republican, filed the bill that would expand Texas’ Compassionate Use Program to include chronic pain in cases where opioids would be prescribed, as well as “debilitating medical conditions” designated by the Department of State Health Services.
The program allows doctors to prescribe “low-THC cannabis” to treat a limited number of medical conditions, such as cancer, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorders. The program has been gradually expanded in recent sessions to include more conditions. As it has broadened, Klick has stressed the importance of a medical program that follows the scientific data.
House Bill 1805, the proposed legislation, also changes how THC in the cannabis prescribed under the program is measured. Doctors could prescribe up to 10 milligrams of THC — the component of cannabis that produces a high — in each dose.
Medical cannabis is sometimes consumed as oil or edible gummies. Klick during a March committee hearing said the change aims to address gastrointestinal issues that can be caused by consuming oil in excess.
The House gave initial approval to the bill on Tuesday and gave it final approval on a 127-19 vote Wednesday.
In 2021, the Senate removed a provision allowing low-cannabis THC for chronic pain from a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
It must pass out of the Senate and be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott before becoming law.
