AUSTIN (Nexstar) – With time running out in the legislative session, lawmakers reached a deal to expand the state’s medical marijuana program. Sunday evening, both the House and Senate approved a conference committee agreement on House Bill 46, relating to the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP).
The legislation calls for expanding the number of licensed cannabis providers in the TCUP from three to 15. It also allows patients with chronic pain and patients with traumatic brain injuries to take part in the program.
The issue of how to define chronic pain for TCUP eligibility was a point of difference between the House and Senate. Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, who authored HB 46 spoke about the differences Sunday as he laid out the conference committee report.
“The Senate had defined chronic pain as a pain that continues for more than 90 days after a prescription of an opioid. This was not acceptable, so the conference committee agreed that to define chronic pain as persistent, severe pain that lasts more than 90 days for which THC is a viable method of treatment,” King said.
King said that veterans are not specifically listed as eligible for the program. Similarly, he said that lawmakers were not able to reach agreement on conditions like glaucoma, degenerative disc disease, and spinal neuropathy. However, King said the definition of chronic pain would cover most of those patients.
TCUP launched in 2015 for epileptic children and has since slowly grown to include more people, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. It provides low-THC cannabis to patients with a proper prescription from a physician.
There are currently three licensed dispensing organizations that cultivate and deliver the products to patients. Nico Richardson is the CEO of Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, one of the dispensing organizations based in south Austin.
Richardson says one of the main issues for the TCUP is accessibility. He says when a patient makes an order they will either have to drive to the main facility of the organization, meet the organization at a pick-up location, or have the product delivered to their house. The size of Texas creates a long waiting period for the patients, Richardson explained. Expanding the number of providers seeks to serve patients in a more effective and timely manner.
The push to expand TCUP gained attention in recent weeks as separate legislation advanced to ban over-the-counter products containing hemp-based THC. THC is the compound in cannabis that causes a high feeling. Legislation passed by both the House and Senate would ban THC products, like vapes, snacks, and drinks currently sold in stores around the state.
Some critics of the ban raised concern about people who use the products to treat pain. State Rep. Penny Morales Shaw, a Democrat from Houston, raised concerns earlier this month during debate on the House floor for the veteran community. “You’re taking away potentially their freedom to choose this product that in their own words saved their lives,” Morales Shaw said from the back microphone.
State Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, who wrote the amendment that changed the bill from a regulation on THC to a complete ban, sympathized with those concerns but argued the proper help for veterans would need to come from the state’s regulated TCUP.
“I don’t ever want somebody to be denied access to a medication that may be a benefit,” Oliverson said.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick voiced support for the THC ban, but also called for expanding TCUP, saying those who need THC for medical use would get it in a controlled way.
“It will be the largest medical cannabis program, regulated medical cannabis program in the country, and probably the most well-designed,” State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock said.
Both the THC ban and the TCUP expansion are now on the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott. He has until June 22 to decide whether to sign the legislation, veto, or let it go into effect without his signature.
Supporters of the TCUP expansion are optimistic the legislation will become law.
“The veterans out there watching need to know that the Texas Compassionate Use Program has been protected,” Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, said while speaking in the chamber. He was one of the House members on the conference committee.
“We actually got a little more than what we thought we’d get out of that conference committee,” Tinderholt said. “Veterans are covered, chronic pain is covered, and this bill will cover all of the things that we wanted when it went over to the Senate and there were modifications made.”
