AUSTIN, Texas — Lawmakers are pushing to expand medical marijuana access in Texas. Patients can get a medical marijuana prescription in the state if they have one of nine conditions, like cancer or PTSD.
In 2015, Texas passed its compassionate-use program (CUP) under the leadership of Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth. It was originally designed for people with intractable epilepsy. CUP was expanded in later legislative sessions to include more conditions, like cancer and PTSD.
Rep. Klick, who’s a nurse and chair of the House public health committee, is now looking to take it a step further with House Bill 1805. If it passes, it would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana for “a condition that causes chronic pain, for which a physician would otherwise prescribe an opioid.”
Right now, there are only three medical marijuana licenses in Texas. One of them is Texas Original, which is headquartered in Manchaca, about 10 miles south of Austin. The…