MEDICAL MARIJUANA

In 2019, Texas legalized hemp, but not marijuana. The new law led to confusion about which marijuana products are legal in Texas. Meanwhile, support for legalizing the drug remains high in polling, and other cannabis-derived products like delta-8 have emerged.

According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, 37 states allow medical marijuana while 19 states allow adults to use it for non-medical reasons.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s openness to marijuana decriminalization shows that the state, while conservative, isn’t immune to larger trends.

A new law going into effect Sept. 1 will also increase the cap of THC in medical marijuana to 1%.

House Bill 1535 expands eligibility for the Texas Compassionate Use Program to people with cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder. It's effective Sept. 1.

House Bill 1535 would expand the state’s medical cannabis program to include those with chronic pain, all cancer patients and Texans with post-traumatic stress disorder. But it hasn’t yet been referred to a Senate committee.

HOUSTON – There are no less than 20 bills up for consideration regarding marijuana this legislative session in Texas but don’t bet the farm that any of them will become law. He said he believes that without the governor and lieutenant governor on board, marijuana legalization in Texas is destined for failure. “Criminal Justice Chair John Whitmire is right that HB63 is dead in the Texas Senate,” Texas Lt. Gov. In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed a marijuana “Compassionate Use” law that allows doctor-prescribed low-THC-level marijuana to epilepsy patients. There are more bills up for consideration this legislative session that would further expand marijuana treatment options.

While we may not know if President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden won the presidential election for a while longer, there was one clear “winner” on election night, and that was recreational drugs. States across the country have been legalizing recreational marijuana every election cycle, and 2020 was no different. Residents in New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota all voted to legalize recreational cannabis, and South Dakota also legalized medical marijuana, along with Mississippi. South Dakota became the first state to legalize medical and recreational marijuana in the same election. For the first time in U.S. history, the state of Oregon decriminalized possession of hard drugs, as well as voted to legalize psychedelic mushrooms.