Dr. Bryon Adinoff participated in a panel discussion for Texas Public Radio regarding recently enacted legislation for Texas' medical cannabis program.
Texas will expand access to medical cannabis for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder and any form of cancer — not just those that are terminal — starting Sept. 1.While advocates are still chalking it up as a win for a state with one of the most restrictive medical cannabis programs in the U.S., the bill that was signed into law by Gov. Abbott was ultimately stripped of its biggest changes during the legislative process.Multiple other marijuana-related bills didn’t make it through the session at all.Lawmakers first passed the state's Compassionate Use Act in 2015 for people with intractable epilepsy and expanded the program to cover terminal cancer and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease in 2019.Texas is one of 11 states with a low-THC program. This year's changes also include a slight increase to the cap for the level of allowable THC in medicinal products, from 0.5% up to 1%. The House's version would have increased the legal limit to 5%.What are the details of the new law? In what ways was it scaled back by the Texas Senate, after initial passage through the House, and why?
Listen to the panel discussion at Texas Public Radio
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