Although medical marijuana is legal in Texas, heavy regulations make it difficult for patients to access. With a short list of qualifying conditions, a limited number of retailers, and restrictions on the amount of THC allowed in products, Texas lags far behind many other states in making the product available to those who need it the most.
A recent report by Americans for Safe Access, which analyzed medical cannabis access in the United States, gave the state of Texas a grade of “F.”
Marijuana for recreational use is illegal in Texas, but products made from hemp are legal for purchase.
Hemp and marijuana are two different species of cannabis. Hemp generally contains a higher amount of CBD acid and trace amounts of THC acid. In contrast, marijuana contains lower amounts of CBD acid and higher amounts of THC acid, which is the psychoactive component of cannabis.
According to Oracle, a CBD product distributor, hemp-derived CBD and hemp-derived Delta-8 THC are legal for purchase in Texas and do not require a prescription. However, products made from marijuana require a doctor’s recommendation and are only allowed for persons with certain medical conditions. These products must not contain more than 1% THC.
Texas banned marijuana altogether in 1931. It was not until 2015 that marijuana was legalized for medical use when Senate Bill 339 approved products containing less than .05% THC as a treatment for intractable epilepsy.
In 2019, the Texas legislature added other qualifying conditions through House Bill 3703. The list includes incurable neurodegenerative diseases, terminal cancer, epilepsy, seizure disorders, autism, spasticity, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis.
On September 1, 2021, House Bill 1535 went into effect. This changed the amount of THC that products can contain from 0.5% to 1%. The bill also added post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and all cancers to the qualifying list.
Interestingly, chronic pain is not one of the listed conditions, although it is a primary reason many people seek to use cannabis.
Pharmaceutical opioids, on the other hand, continue to be legal amidst the current “opioid crisis.” In 2019, there were 70,630 deaths from prescription drugs and 49,860 deaths from opioids. There have been zero deaths from cannabis.
Businesses that cultivate, dispense, or process low-THC marijuana must be licensed by the state of Texas. Currently, there are only two licensed marijuana retailers in the state, both located near Austin, yet Texas has approximately 3,500 medical marijuana patients.
Morris Denton is the CEO of one of those retailers, Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation. His business supplies medical marijuana and has been named a “Gold Standard” with high-quality products.
Texas law only allows marijuana products to be stored at the main facility. Therefore, Denton’s employees have to make multiple trips a week throughout the state to deliver products to their twelve pickup locations.
In a letter to state legislators, Denton wrote, “Let the business operate the way that business can and should operate. Allow us to store inventory closer to our patients so that our patients … have reasonable access to it on a more consistent basis.”
He also suggested that legislators increase the allowed THC levels, add more qualifying conditions to the list, and approve more retailers.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, patients who need a higher dose of THC must consume a larger quantity of marijuana per day due to the restrictions on the percentage of THC allowed in the product. Because of that, patients are ingesting large amounts of sugar, tapioca, and other byproducts.
The law restricts the amount of THC by weight in marijuana products but does not restrict the amount a doctor can prescribe, or a patient can consume.
Denton said, “It is like if the government put a restriction on Advil and said there can only be a certain amount of ibuprofen in it, and now instead of taking two pills for a headache, you have to take 15 to get the same dose. It is just unnecessary.”
While some, like Denton, are pushing legislators to make changes to the laws on marijuana, others think it should not be a matter of legislation at all.
Abbey Roudebush from Americans for Safe Access does not support state regulation of medical marijuana.
“This is a medical decision, just like any other medical decision that you would make. That decision and authority need to be left up to the patient and their physician who know the patient’s health best and what will be best for the patient. And it shouldn’t be left up to the legislature or regulators to decide who will have access, or who can benefit from medical cannabis,” she said.
Former State Senator Don Huffines does not support recreational marijuana but believes medical marijuana use should be up to the doctor and patient.
“If the coronavirus pandemic has shown us anything, it is that government control of medicine is very dangerous,” he said.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Governor Greg Abbott has consulted with parents of children who have autism and epilepsy and veterans who have had success using marijuana for medical purposes.
However, Abbott spoke of other states who legalized marijuana and are now dealing with individuals abusing the drug.
“One thing I don’t want to see is jails stockpiled with people who were convicted with possession of small amounts of marijuana,” he added.
In Texas, the illegal possession of marijuana can range from a class C misdemeanor to a class A felony. The cities of Plano, Dallas, and El Paso have recently reduced the penalties for marijuana possession.
In March 2021, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia announced that individuals carrying two ounces or less will not be charged with possession. Plano followed his lead a month later.
Rich Wakeland, a politician who ran for governor in the last Texas Democratic primary, says “yes” to legalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational use.
“California generated $800 million in revenue in marijuana last year,” he said.
Wakeland believes legalizing cannabis could stop the flow of incoming drugs from cartels. Still, he says age limits and restrictions should apply, just like the state requires for alcohol consumption and driving a motor vehicle.