The Brief
The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes will expand in Texas
HB 46 The new law increases the number of dispensaries to 15, and it also allows for satellite locations
The debate on hemp bills remains stalled
AUSTIN, Texas - More than 700 new Texas laws will go into effect on September 1. Among them is House Bill 46, which expands the medical marijuana program known as TCUP.
As that program gets a boost, the debate over whether to regulate hemp products with THC remains unsolved.
Medical marijuana expansion
The backstory
The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes started in Texas 10 years ago. Access to the Texas Compassionate Use Program, known as TCUP, was initially very limited.
With the passage of HB 46 in the Regular Session, TCUP will undergo a major expansion.
"This is going to be a very big moment for the program," said Nico Richardson, the CEO of Texas Original.
Texas Original, located in South Austin, is one of three licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Texas. The new law increases the number of dispensaries to 15, and it also allows for satellite locations.
"It is a game changer, absolutely. And it's certainly a great answer to a very overly restrictive program," said Richardson.
Starting Sept. 1, physicians will be able to prescribe inhalers and vape pins. The program will also become available to patients with Traumatic Brain Injury, Crohn’s Disease and Chronic Pain.
"The original language in the Bill was that a patient had to have a prescription for opioids in order to have access to medical cannabis if they have chronic pain. That would have been problematic in and of itself where you're almost forcing patients that would rather be on medical cannabis in order to get a prescription for an opioid, which we don't want at this point if patients are trying to switch from one to the other," said Richardson.
Hemp debate
Dig deeper
TCUP expansion comes as debate at the state capitol has stalled on what to do with hemp products that contain excessive levels of THC.
In a recent FOX 7 Care Force report, Mitch Fuller with the Texas VFW explained why he is against a ban.
"So we've always taken a position in the VFW that we support the Texas Compassionate Use Program, which is a medical marijuana program that's expensive, not as accessible and not as affordable as hemp-derived consumables. So let us choose what works best for us," said Fuller.
Richardson disputed the accusation of excessive cost. He does believe prices and access will eventually improve as new dispensaries open.
"They'll issue the first nine around December 1, so that's the deadline. So they'll probably start issuing some before that. It can take anywhere from six months to a year to get operational. It could go much faster depending on how the regulator allows for inter-license commerce," said Richardson.
As for the hemp debate, Richardson suggested rebooting the debate. He said lawmakers could pause the debate and pass the ban, then flip the discussion to what other states have done.
"They don't issue 8,000 manufacturing and retail licenses and then say, how are we going to test and regulate this," said Richardson.
For Richardson, those calling for regulation now have fallen into the old adage of "putting the cart before the horse."
"So that's the big problem now is you either have to turn the clock back. To put the genie back in the bottle. And I think that's what the legislature was trying to do initially with SB3, which is, okay, we'll ban it. We'll take the two years to figure out what an appropriate regulatory scheme is, and then we'll start issuing licenses again. That's responsible," said Richardson.
What's next
The House and Senate hemp bills are in the Public Health Committee.
As of right now, a hearing date has not been set. Technically, the second Special Session can last until September 13.
The Source
Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski
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