“The doctor assured me he could prescribe me enough… I said, ‘Sure, you can, but I can’t afford it.'”
The Texas Tribune: Hayden Betts, Stephen Simpson
Wesley Barnes, a Gulf War vet, is 55 years old and has suffered from chronic pain, as well as PTSD, since his overseas exposure to Sarin Gas. Barnes spent several years relying on opiates prescribed by doctors after leaving the Army.
Barnes, who lives in Onalaska about 30 miles to the east of Huntsville said that there is nothing available at VA for pain relief or anxiety which doesn’t involve addiction. “I was a walking zombie.”
Barnes was eligible to join Texas’s Compassionate Use Program – also known as Texas medical marijuana – shortly after the program expanded in 2021. In addition to the $600 he spent on doctor’s appointments, Barnes also paid between $600 and $800 per month for legal medical cannabis.
Barnes remembered that Barnes was assured by his doctor that he would be able to prescribe him enough medication. “I said, ‘Sure, you can, but I can’t afford it.'”
Barnes initially tried to buy cannabis illegally, but he soon discovered that he can treat his pain using legal hemp products. For $40, he could get what would cost $220 in the street.
Barnes said, “Don’t force me to go back on the black market.”
Barnes, a chronic pain patient, says that he will not participate in the Compassionate Usage Program, even if THC retail products are made illegal. The main concerns are the costs, inflexibility of dosing methods and issues relating to civil rights that the legal option raises.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) veto is the last remaining hurdle for a bill that would ban all products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, likely spelling the end for the state’s short-lived hemp industry.
Senate Bill 3 which bans consumption of hemp products containing synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as Delta-8, has been a legislative priority for the Lt. Governor this session. Dan Patrick (R), a frequent critic of this drug’s effects on children, was a strong advocate for the bill. Patrick didn’t respond to The Texas Tribune requests for comment.
Hemp consumers, retailers, farmers and Republicans are urging Abbott not to pass the bill. When asked whether Abbott will veto SB 3 before the deadline of June 22, his press secretary Andrew Mahaleris replied that the governor was still reviewing all the pending legislation.
House Bill 46, which expanded the number of dispensaries, the qualifying conditions and the products for the Medical Marijuana Program, was also approved during this session. It reduced some of the expensive regulations that apply to dispensaries.
Jervonne singletary is a spokesperson from Austin-based medical marijuana firm Goodblend. She said that new rules will translate to lower prices.
She said that at first, a limited program is expensive. But as it grows, the cost of medicine will naturally drop.
Accessibility to hemp-derived THC
William Macbrohn is 57 years old and a San Antonio resident. He was a Habitat for Humanity warehouse manager until psoriatic arthritis prevented him doing his work.
I’m always in pain. “I’m in pain 24/7.” Macbrohn explained that he mows the grass and is done for at least two days.
Macbrohn uses hemp-based products only at night, to ease his discomfort and help him fall asleep. Macbrohn found the products after searching for years to find a product which he thought was neither addictive physically nor would have unpredictable mental effects as Ambien.
“Finally, all this time that I’ve been suffering, I found something that’ll help that’s not a synthetic chemical…and they’re going to go and take it away,” he said.
Macbrohn is eligible for Texas’ Compassionate Program, but has not enrolled because he carries his gun concealed. His belief is that carrying a concealed gun while having a card for medical marijuana would violate federal law. However, Texas law does not. Macbrohn believes that concealed carrying and the use of consumable hemp are legal.
In the US, there is still a grey area regarding federal law and marijuana use. In January, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2021 conviction of felony federal crime for an El Paso women who was convicted of both possessing illegal marijuana and owning firearms. The court ruled that this case did not “consistently follow our tradition and history of firearms regulation.” The U.S. Department of Justice, however, has taken similar cases to the Supreme Court. It has not yet ruled on this issue.
Macbrohn has vowed to follow the law even in the case of a possible hemp ban. Under the proposed bill, possessing hemp-based products for consumption would constitute a Class C misdemeanor that could be expunged and punishable by a $500 fine or no jail term.
He said, “If they prohibit it, I will be done.”
Macbrohn currently has hemp consumables in stock.
Donna Maniscalco is a retired Navy veteran, aged 62, who lives in Lometa. She served as a Chaplain Assistant for nearly 19 years before she was discharged in 2009 due to medical issues. She was stationed in Keflavik (Iceland) for some time, and suffered spinal injuries after being “literally thrown” by the wind.
Maniscalco explains that she is able to live a normal life and garden which improves her mental health. She’d be “probably in bed all the day” without them.
Maniscalco shares the same concern as Macbrohn that having her name added to a list may affect her right of carry.
Maniscalco stated that she would move into her parent’s home in Upstate New York if this ban is implemented. Cannabis and hemp-based products for consumption are legal in the area.
She said “I do not want to leave”, “I am friends with people here.” Here I have three children, two boys and one girl. I enjoy the extended growing season. I love Texas.
Barnes noted that hemp products are available in different strains, which allows for a highly-personalized approach to treatment. Barnes stated that the medical cannabis program prohibits doctors from prescribing doses of marijuana higher than 10 mg at one time.
Is it possible to expand the use of medical marijuana quickly?
By adding 9 dispensers and more prescription products like inhalers, vaping devices and prescribed inhalers to the program’s total of 12, HB 46 will expand the medical marijuana program. The list also includes traumatic brain injury, chronic pain and Crohn’s Disease.
The biggest price-lowering change in the new bill is that it will allow medical marijuana distributors the option to store products at satellite sites instead of driving across the state every day to bring the product back to their original dispensary.
The medical marijuana program is now limited in its reach and the products are more expensive.
Singletary believes that prices will drop now that companies selling medical marijuana can store products in specified locations overnight.
Her response clarifies that medical marijuana will not be available in the same way as hemp for a long time. Over 8,000 Texas retailers now carry hemp-derived THC. Singletary explained that the industry needs a couple of months to work out the details before it can begin the expansion.
She said that hemp grew rapidly overnight, but we will have measured growth.
Singletary says that while hemp may become illegal in Texas but it will remain federally legal. This means mail-order products containing hemp will still be available for those who wish to purchase them.
She said, “There are many Texans that want to buy quality products that have been regulated and tested in their state, not mail order hemp. I really respect those people who choose that route, but for others who prefer to get cannabis prescribed by a doctor that has been regulated and is produced locally, come and join our program.”
A ban versus regulation
In large-scale research, it has been repeatedly shown that the use of marijuana in general is higher when cannabis becomes legal. Some studies show that cannabis use drops when it is criminalized. This suggests Texas may follow the same path, despite claims from some users to circumvent THC restrictions.
Since more than 100 years, public health and government experts have debated whether cannabis prohibition is effective in meeting a number of goals.
Civil rights lawyers argue that the criminalization of drugs has a price in civil liberties. In a 2020 ACLU Report, “More than six millions [marijuana related] Between 2010 and 2018, there were over 3,000 arrests. “Black people have a 3.64-fold higher chance of being arrested for marijuana possession than do white people, even though they use the drug at similar rates.”
Kirsten Budwine, a policy attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, said, “This is not just bad policy, but a step backward into the failed logic of the war on drugs… What it really does is turn a regulatory issue into a criminal one.”
Cannabinoids are effective in the treatment of chronic pain, as proven by decades of research. In a 2017 review, involving over 10,000 research studies, “substantial” evidence was found that cannabinoids were effective in treating chronic pain. “Moderate” evidence indicated that excessive cannabinoid usage impaired memory and attention.
Medical experts are in agreement that incidents of psychosis caused by cannabis, like those Patrick mentioned during his press conference, occur. Especially when high-THC products are exposed to a large population, without safety precautions.
In response to concerns over the growth of marijuana use, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine called for hemp-derived goods to be “regulated at the same level as other intoxicating products of cannabis” on a federal basis. In the report, the National Academies also recommended that states prevent minors from purchasing cannabis products and conduct public awareness campaigns on the dangers.
Texas legislators were told by hemp users and hemp producers that they prefer regulations for the industry, as opposed to a ban.
Barnes is concerned that the new age of hemp grown illegally could bring even greater dangers.
What if I had to buy it from a guy at the corner, hoping it didn’t contain fentanyl? Get shot or get 200 dollars for whatever? “He said.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/texas-thc-hemp-medical-marijuana-ban-veterans-pain/.
The Texas Tribune, a nonpartisan and member-funded newsroom that informs and engages Texans about state politics and policies. Find out more on texastribune.org.
Texas Governor Still Won’t Say If He’ll Sign Hemp Ban Bill, But Thinks There Are ‘Meaningful’ Concerns On Both Sides Of The Debate
Kimzy Nanney is the photographer.
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