AUSTIN - 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.”
Also speaking in favor of the recommendation was Dr. Robert Fine from Dallas: “We want to make certain that the current eligibility criteria that the legislature established many years ago be expanded to include sickle cell disease as well as any condition leading to severe, chronic pain for which we would prescribe an opioid. If it’s an opioid-deserving pain, it’s a cannabis-deserving pain, with cannabis probably being the safer drug. As well as making certain that cannabis be available for severe nausea and severe anxiety.”
Watch the meeting here.
The council approved the recommendation to expand the Texas Compassionate Use Program and it will be included in their report to lawmakers who convene in January for the 89th Texas Legislative Session.
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