Texas officials took an initial step towards implementing a new law that will expand the medical marijuana program in the state. The Department of Public Safety has released proposed rules for a significant increase of the licensed dispensaries.
Wayne Mueller, DPS regulatory chief and the head of the Public Safety Commission’s meeting on Thursday discussed the upcoming draft rules under the Medical Cannabis Law. This is because a Senate bill that banned hemp THC-based products has been stalled due to the lack of quorum in an ongoing special session.
Once the proposed rule is published in The Texas Register (which advocates hope will happen within the coming week), they still have to pass through the public comment period. Finalization must occur by the end of October.
“We have received many questions on this.” Mueller stated at the meeting that “we’ve received many opinions on this.” We’ve received a lot of opinions about this,” Mueller said at the commission meeting.
For compliance with the new medical marijuana legislation signed by Gov. DPS, in accordance with the medical marijuana expansion legislation that Gov.
This law expands medical cannabis conditions that qualify for marijuana use to chronic pain and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). It also adds Crohn’s disease, other inflammatory bowel disorders, as well as Crohn’s. The enacted law automatically adopts this policy, and it won’t require any further rules.
DPS issuing licenses to 12 dispensaries in the entire state. There are currently only three. Additional licensees are selected through a competition, and officials will prioritize the public health regions of Texas to maximize access.
Nine of the 139 applicants that submitted forms in a previous application window, 2023, will receive a first-round license. DPS will choose these nine licensees by December 1. A second round will take place on April 1, 2020, in which the 2023 applicants, who didn’t get a license and new potential licensees can try again.
The group 2023 can revise its applications until 15 September. The deadline for new dispensary applicants is September 15.
Heather Fazio of Texas Cannabis Policy Center told MEDCAN24 that the expansion of this Compassionate Program has been a long-awaited event. The Compassionate Use Program will now be expanded to include more patients in Texas and allow new businesses the chance to open.
She said, “Although there are some shortcomings, such as patient protection for employment, custody of children, and firearm rights, we’re grateful that the program is improving and growing.” New applicants, unlike in previous applications periods will know the criteria for rating before they apply. “This is an important step in the direction of transparency which we’ve been supporting for years.”
Fazio added, “Although we are working to preserve hemp-derived THC legal for adult consumption, we need to continue our efforts in providing patients with effective and safe medical cannabis via the Compassionate Use Program”.
Disclosure: Fazio is a monthly Patreon contributor to MEDCAN24.
More rulemaking will be expected over the next few weeks as Department of State Health Services must develop separate rules related vaping device, and these also need to be finalized before October 1.
DSHS has also been tasked to create a way for doctors to recommend to the department that additional conditions qualify for medical marijuana. If DSHS deems that a condition deserves to be included in this list, the department is authorized to send the recommendation to the legislature to consider during the next session.
Meanwhile, House lawmakers are in a standstill after multiple Democratic members left the state to deny the chamber a quorum that’s necessary to pass legislation—specifically a proposed redistricting of the state’s congressional map that would generally favor Republicans.
The hemp prohibition bill, which passed in the Senate just a few weeks before the end of the special session.
Governor vetoed a previous version of controversial bill, but he has recently stated what he wants to see in the new version.
The special session was opened on the 21st of July. According to the constitution of California, special sessions are limited to 30 days. This means that a quorum must be restored before August 20, if bills were to pass. There is nothing that prevents a governor from convening another special meeting once the 30-day deadline expires.
At a press conference last month, a group of Democratic state senators introduced two new cannabis-related bills, including one that would regulate the hemp market, allowing adults 21 and older to purchase hemp products containing no more than 5 mg of THC per serving.
The second bill effectively legalizes cannabis for adult users by lifting criminal penalties on possession up to two ounces marijuana per person, and up 10 ounces for a family if the pot is hidden away and kept out of view. The cultivation of six plants would be allowed, but only half could mature.
Some advocates are hopeful that either SB 5 or its House counterpart could see revisions as they make their way through the legislative process—either to affirmatively regulate the hemp market or to at least ease some of the criminal penalties on individuals found in possession of the affected products.
For what it’s worth, a new poll shows likely voters in the state across the political spectrum aren’t on board with the outright ban—with an overwhelming majority saying they support regulation over prohibition of cannabinoids.
—
MEDCAN24 has been tracking the hundreds of bills relating to cannabis, psychedelics or drug policies that have passed through state legislatures as well as Congress in this past year. Patreon subscribers who donate at least $25 per month get full access to the interactive maps and charts as well as our hearing calendar.
Discover more about the marijuana bills tracker. Become a patron on Patreon and you will have access.
—
Separately, Rep. Nicole Collier (D) introduced a one-page bill, HB 42, designed to protect consumers in the state from criminal charges if what they believed was a legal hemp product turned out to contain excessive amounts of THC, making it illegal marijuana. This bill prevents criminalization for anyone found with a hemp product but later determined to have “a controlled substance” or marijuana.
For the purchaser to be entitled to legal protection the hemp-based product must have been bought “from an authorized retailer that the buyer reasonably believed to be authorized to sell consumable hemp products.”
Another bill—HB 195, introduced by Rep. Jessica González (D)—would legalize marijuana for people 21 and older, allowing possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis, with no more than 15 grams of that amount being in concentrated form.
Another proposal calls for state officials to carry out a study of THC testing.
As for what Texans themselves want to see from their representatives, proponents of reining in the largely unregulated intoxicating hemp industry in Texas shared new polling data indicating that majorities of respondents from both major political parties support outlawing synthetic cannabinoids, such as delta-8 THC.
In the same survey, it was found that respondents preferred to purchase therapeutic cannabis products from state-licensed medical programs than a “smokeshop selling unregulated and nontested hemp.”
Ahead of the governor’s veto in June of SB 3—the earlier hemp product ban—advocates and stakeholders had delivered more than 100,000 petition signatures asking Abbott to reject the measure. Critics argued that the industry—which employs an estimated 53,000 people—would be decimated if the measure became law.
AnonMoos. Image element.
MEDCAN24 would not be possible without the support of readers. Consider a Patreon subscription if our marijuana advocacy journalism is what you use to keep informed.
