Texas lawmakers will meet behind closed doors to finalize the details of House Bill 46, which seeks to expand prescription access to medical cannabis through the state’s Compassionate Use Program.
"There were some changes I don't agree with," bill author Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, said May 30 of Senate amendments to the proposal.
State senators voted May 27 to increase the conditions eligible for the medical cannabis program and quadruple the amount of medical cannabis dispensaries that can be licensed in Texas. However, the latest version of HB 46 falls short of some provisions approved by House members two weeks earlier.
For example, the House moved to nearly double the number of conditions eligible for the program and give the Texas Department of State Health Services broad authority to add other conditions to the list, while the Senate version would add fewer conditions and require that patients experiencing chronic pain be prescribed opioids for at least 90 days before becoming eligible for low-THC cannabis products.
Lawmakers have until June 1 to complete negotiations, and the 140-day regular legislative session ends June 2.
Published 7:28 p.m. May 28
Texas senators voted unanimously May 27 to expand eligibility for medical cannabis prescriptions, putting the state on track to build out an existing program that some Texans have said does not currently help enough people. That same day, legislation that would ban the possession, sale and manufacture of all other hemp-derived THC products in Texas was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
At a glance
House Bill 46 would increase the conditions eligible for Texas’ Compassionate Use Program, which lawmakers launched in 2015 to treat certain forms of severe epilepsy and have since expanded. The latest version of the bill would also allow doctors to prescribe a wider variety of low-THC products and quadruple the amount of licensed medical cannabis dispensaries.
“Texans still struggle to get access to the medicine that they are legally allowed to receive,” bill author Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, said before House members approved a similar version of HB 46 two weeks earlier.
The bill will return to the House for consideration of changes made by the Senate. In a May 25 social media post, Rep. Tom Oliverson, a Cypress Republican who negotiated a deal on the medical cannabis bill, said the two chambers had agreed on “a truly amazing expansion” of the program. If the House concurs with those changes, HB 46 will head to the governor.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Texas Senate, made outlawing all other consumable THC products one of his signature priorities this legislative session. He told journalists May 28 that the proposed THC ban would “save an entire generation [from] being hooked on drugs,” accusing those against the ban of being profit-motivated.
“They don't care about the health of children—they care about making a profit,” Patrick said during a May 28 news conference. “That's all they care about. But we want to respond to them, so we have expanded [the Compassionate Use Program].”
Zooming in
If HB 46 becomes law, Texans with chronic pain and those being treated in hospice or for a terminal illness would be eligible for the medical cannabis program. Nine conditions, including epilepsy, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, are currently covered.
Bill sponsor Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said HB 46 would use the Texas Medical Board’s definition of chronic pain, which states that chronic pain lasts for at least 90 days. Perry noted May 27 that people eligible to use low-THC medications for chronic pain would likely have been previously prescribed opioids to treat their pain.
“We don't want to force anyone to take narcotics,” Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, said on the Senate floor May 27. “As a matter of fact, we're trying to help... keep them from taking narcotics, from getting addicted, from possibly overdosing.”
The bill would also allow licensed physicians to begin prescribing aerosol and vaporized medical cannabis products, such as inhalers and vaping devices. Providers can currently sell topical medications, tinctures and edible products, like gummies or beverages.
Dr. Matthew Brimberry, an Austin physician who is licensed to prescribe medical cannabis, told Community Impact that allowing patients to inhale products would be “another tool in our toolbox ... that is missing at this point.”
“On average, [an edible product] takes about 45 minutes to an hour to initiate, and then it lasts for about four to six hours,” Brimberry said in an April 25 interview. “If you have somebody with extreme nausea, it's going to be very difficult for them to take something orally. If you have somebody with tremendous muscle spasms and they need to make it from their car to an event or to their house, they can't wait 30 to 45 minutes for the medicine to start working.”
More details
Senators also amended HB 46 to allow 12 medical cannabis dispensaries to operate in Texas, up from three under current law. Licensed dispensaries would have the option to create satellite locations to store medication..
Under current law, medical cannabis providers must house all their operations and store products in a single location. This means providers and patients often drive hours to transport and pick up medication, said Nico Richardson, CEO of the dispensary Texas Original.
“[The program] is not set up to succeed right now, and it's not set up to provide reasonable access to patients,” Richardson told Community Impact on April 25. “The law that we operate under says that we have to provide reasonable access to patients across Texas, and our regulations are not allowing us to do that.”
If HB 46 becomes law, Richardson said Texas Original’s pickup locations would operate like traditional pharmacies, allowing most patients to receive medication on the same day it’s ordered. He noted that this would also “dramatically reduce” the cost of medications, which are not covered by insurance.
Perry said May 27 that three of the new licenses would be awarded to companies that previously applied for licensure under the program. He said the new dispensaries would be “Texas-based companies, if possible.”
The bill would also include expedited approval for satellite locations opened by Texas’ three existing medical cannabis providers, Texas Original, goodblend and Fluent.
“If we're really talking about an expansion, it won't mean anything unless it happens pretty quickly,” Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said May 27.
Also of note
On the Senate floor, Gutierrez said he was in favor of both “a regulated medical and a regulated recreational” cannabis program in Texas, adding that there are not currently enough regulations on consumable THC products.
“A 16-year-old kid can go into the 7/11 and pick up a vape pen with no regulation whatsoever,” Gutierrez said. “I didn't want that; you didn't want that—I dare say nobody in this room wanted that.”
Earlier in May, House members said the consumable THC ban proposed by Senate Bill 3 would close a “loophole” state lawmakers inadvertently created in 2019, when they legalized hemp sales in an attempt to boost the agricultural industry.
SB 3 passed the House in an 87-54 vote on May 22 and was sent to the governor’s desk on May 27. Abbott has until June 22 to sign or veto bills.
During the May 28 news conference, Patrick did not directly say whether he was concerned about Abbott vetoing the bill, noting that some hemp retailers were fighting the proposed THC ban.
“There's a tremendous onslaught of pressure from an $8 billion [hemp] industry that has unlimited money, and they're trying to poison the story to stop this from happening. ... I'm not going to speak for the governor; I have total confidence in him. You will know his decision when he makes it,” Patrick told reporters.
Abbott has not publicly commented on SB 3.
After House lawmakers passed SB 3, the Texas Hemp Business Council, which advocates for hemp retailers, launched a petition urging the governor to veto the bill.
If SB 3 becomes law, it would “harm veterans, senior citizens, patients and consumers across the state,” according to the petition.
“We encourage the legislature to support additional, thoughtful regulation, such as age restrictions for purchasing, and child- resistant packaging, that ensure product safety without the elimination of these products for Texans,” the petition reads.
