Gov. Abbott signs Texas medical marijuana expansion into law

“This new legislation is a vital step ahead for veterans, most cancers sufferers and plenty of different Texans,” stated Nick Etten, a former Navy SEAL and founding father of the Veterans Hashish Undertaking, who famous that many Texas veterans deal with PTSD. “Shifting ahead, we are going to proceed to work with lawmakers in future legislative periods to construct on this legislation, develop a broader method in the direction of medical hashish, and ensure it’s a actually efficient medical device for the veterans who gave a lot for our nation.”

The legislation is a victory for Texas’ medical marijuana advocates, although many have been disenchanted that the invoice was stripped of its biggest changes in the course of the legislative course of. HB 1535 originated within the Texas Home, the place lawmakers overwhelmingly authorized a model of the measure that may have additionally expanded eligibility to sufferers with any situation that causes acute or continual ache, and that may have given the state well being division the flexibility to approve different circumstances.

The decrease chamber’s model additionally would have elevated the authorized restrict for THC, the psychoactive compound in hashish, from .5 % to five %.

However these provisions have been taken out as soon as the invoice made its solution to the Texas Senate, which restricted this system’s growth to PTSD and most cancers sufferers. Beforehand, solely sufferers with terminal most cancers and some acute seizure problems might entry medical marijuana.