So, during May and early June, I got countless calls at my office from clients (both present and former) asking if Texas had legalized marijuana. The calls were apparently based on some overzealous Facebook posts (FB is the root of all evil. Fact.)
I want to be absolutely clear about what Texas did and DID NOT do this past legislative session.
Texas DID NOT legalize marijuana.
Texas DID, via Senate Bill 339 (which was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott earlier this month), legalize the medicinal use of marijuana extract (cannabidoil, or “CBD”) for persons suffering from epilepsy who have previously tried at least two traditional epilepsy medications and have obtained the approval of two doctors to use cannabis oil before taking advantage of the new law.
So, if you (1) have epilepsy, and (2) have tried at least two traditional methods of epilepsy treatment, and (3) have obtained the approval of two doctors, you can use cannabis oil from a Texas Department of Public Safety approved CBD oil-dispensing organization.
“Excellent,” you say, “I have satisfied all those criteria, and now just need to find a CBD oil-dispensary approved by Texas Department of Public Safety.” Good luck with that. To date, no such Texas Department of Public Safety approved dispensary exists, and is likely to exist until September 1, 2017.
And, of course, the law does not take effect until September 1, 2015.
And, note, the law only applies to epilepsy. Not cancer. Not any other condition. Just epilepsy.
And epilepsy patients won’t be running around high on CBD. CBD is a low-THC level compound, and does not contain enough THC (what gets you high) to produce any sort of high whatsoever.
Ah, compassionate use of marijuana for medical conditions is alive and well in Texas.
What Texas DID DO RIGHT was to affirmatively recognize that marijuana has some legitimate use as medicine. Consider: the State of Texas recognizes via this new law that marijuana has medicinal benefits. That’s huge, I think.
This should make possession of marijuana cases this fall interesting: the State of Texas believes that marijuana, or CBD at the very least, has some medicinal value, yet penalizes possession of marijuana. The federal government still believes marijuana has no medicinal value, and is a “dangerous” drug. And per an April 2015 Pew Research Center report, 53% of Americans support legalization.
So, if you’re keeping score at home: Texas says “only for specific medical conditions”; the federal government says “no way, period”; and Americans say “we’re cool with legalizing pot.”