The Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP) was established in 2015. The Legislature expanded the program in 2019 and again in 2021, providing access to low-THC (1%) cannabis for those with certain medical conditions.
Top Recommendations to Make TCUP More Inclusive:
The Texas Compassionate Use Program is unreasonably restrictive for both patients and dispensaries. State lawmakers have slow-rolled this program, keeping countless sick Texans from accessing cannabis medicine.
Not only is the list of qualifying conditions restricted, but products are limited and businesses are subject to unnecessary regulatory hurdles.
Join us in calling on lawmakers to expand and improve the Compassionate Use Program!
House Bill 46 improves the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP). The bill defines the allowable amount of THC in terms of milligrams (rather than % by weight), but legalizes the use of cannabis patches, lotions, and suppositories as well as approved inhalers, nebulizers, and vaping devices.
To ensure adequate patient access, HB 46 instructs the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to issue 11 dispensing licenses, which must be located strategically within Texas' 11 public health regions. The bill also allows dispensing organizations to open approved satellite locations.
Relating to the medical use of low-THC cannabis under and the administration of the Texas Compassionate-Use Program. Bill details.
Status: 03/13/2025 S Vote taken in committee (Passed Unanimously)
Relating to the medical use of low-THC cannabis under and the administration of the Texas Compassionate-Use Program. Bill details.
Status: 04/14/2025 H Scheduled for public hearing.
Qualifying Conditions
Current Law: PTSD, autism, cancer, epilepsy, seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, incurable neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, or medical conditions approved for research by the commissioner of the Department of State Health Services.
Recommendation: Allow doctors to decide if cannabis can help a particular patient. At minimum, add the following conditions:
Types of Medicine
Current Law: Low-THC, limited to 1% by weight.
Recommendation:
Additional Policy Recommendations:
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) administers and regulates the Compassionate Use Program. Through the program, DPS operates a secure online registry of qualified physicians who can prescribe low-THC cannabis to patients with specific medical conditions.
The registry, called the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas (CURT), is designed to prevent more than one qualified physician from registering as the prescriber for a single patient, is accessible to law enforcement agencies and dispensing organizations to verify patients of low-THC cannabis, and allows a physician to input safety and efficacy data derived from the treatment of patients for whom low-THC cannabis is prescribed.
DPS also manages the licensing of organizations that dispense low-THC cannabis to patients in the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas.
On August 6, the Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Advisory Council, met to discuss a variety of recommendations to the legislature, including one recommendation to expand the Texas Compassionate Use Program.
Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Advisory Council was established to assess the availability of patient-centered and family-focused palliative care in Texas. The council consults with and advises the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).
During the council's discussion, Dr. Larry Driver from Houston spoke in support of the recommendation, "We're all in agreement that medical cannabis, especially in a palliative care setting, needs to at least be a part of the Compassionate Use Program. There needs to be more work done and I would hope that the state would endorse research into the potential benefits of THC and CBD."
The council approved the recommendation to expand the Texas Compassionate Use Program and it was included in their report to lawmakers who convene in January for the 89th Texas Legislative Session.
Watch the meeting here.
We've compiled voting records for cannabis related bills that received a vote in the Texas House during the last three legislative sessions (2019-2023). How did your representative vote on cannabis bills in previous sessions?
Identify your legislators here.
Our Legislature will convene from January 14 to June 2, 2025.
Join us in calling on lawmakers to expand and improve the Compassionate Use Program!
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