Texas Department of Health & Human Services Adopts New Section to Include "Incurable Neurodegenerative Diseases" Under Medical Cannabis ProgramAUSTIN, Texas—Dec. 2nd, 2019—The Executive Commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), on behalf of the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), has published the list definition for incurable neurodegenerative diseases that now qualify for low-THC medical cannabis prescriptions. As part of an expansion of the Texas Compassionate Use Act, the new section is adopted with changes to the proposed draft text that was first published in theSeptember 27th, 2019, issue of the Texas Register.The new section is necessary to comply with House Bill (H.B.) 3703, requiring the Executive Commissioner of HHSC to adopt a rule designating incurable neurodegenerative diseases eligible for prescription of low-THC cannabis. Revisions from the proposed draft to the adopted version are limited to numbering and spelling changes.
One of the most significant updates included is the ability for a physician, treating a patient not covered by the expansion, to submit a request to the Department of Health and Human Services to have the disease added to the list. To submit this request, a form provided by DSHS will soon be available on Compassionate Cultivation’s website. We will notify our email list once the form is released.This law update will go into effect December 5th, 2019. The following week, beginning December 12th, registered physicians will be able to enter incurable neurodegenerative disease patients and prescriptions into the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas (CURT) system. Subscribe to our email list to stay apprised of future Compassionate Use Program updates as they occur.------------------Compassionate Cultivation made Texas history when it opened its doors in February 2018 as the state’s first retail dispensary. The Texas-based company is one of three businesses licensed by the Texas Department of Safety to grow cannabis and process it into low-THC formulations of medical cannabis products.### About Compassionate CultivationCompassionate Cultivation is the leading medical cannabis company in the state of Texas. Headquartered in Manchaca, southwest of Austin, the company is the only 100 percent Texan-owned and operated medical cannabis company serving patients throughout America’s second-most populous state. Compassionate Cultivation is dedicated to representing the integrity of this great state and helping patients and families in need—and the physicians prescribing their cannabis-based medicine. For more information, please visittexasoriginal.com. Follow us onFacebook,Instagram andTwitter for news and updates on Texas medical cannabis
