Texas Original Announces Support for House Bill 1805 to Expand Medical Cannabis Access for Texans

Texas Original Announces Support for House Bill 1805 to Expand Medical Cannabis Access for Texans
Texas Original Announces Support for House Bill 1805 to Expand Medical Cannabis Access for Texans

UPDATE: After passing the Texas House, HB 1805 has stalled in Senate Committee. We need YOUR help to advance HB 1805 before the legislative session ends.

Call the Lieutenant Governor’s office at (512) 463-0001 today and encourage him to do everything in his power to advance and pass HB 1805 so that you, and patients like you, can safely access medical cannabis through the Compassionate Use Program. Please remember to be courteous when calling.

HB 1805 will increase the list of qualifying conditions and adjust the current THC limit to enable physicians to make more effective prescriptions for patients

AUSTIN, Texas (March 20, 2023)—Texas Original, Texas’ leading medical cannabis provider, today announced its support for Texas House Bill 1805, filed Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, by House Public Health Committee Chairwoman Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth. Today, the House Public Health Committee approved HB 1805 in a unanimous, 10-0 vote.

The bill amends the Texas Compassionate Use Act to:

  • Expand the list of medical conditions and patients that qualify for medical cannabis to include chronic pain.
  • Change the THC cap to a volumetric limit, aligning Texas’ medical cannabis regulations with the measurement systems already used by physicians for all other prescriptions.

This legislative session represents an opportunity to expand patient access to a safe and proven pain treatment method to the thousands of Texas, including veterans, whose chronic pain conditions are not currently eligible under the Compassionate Use Act. Medical cannabis is already approved to treat chronic pain in many other states, and is well-documented for its ability to help patients transition away from harmful and addictive opioids.

“The current THC cap, which limits all medical cannabis to 1% THC by weight, is out of step with the way we approach all other medications—unnecessarily limiting doctors and requiring patients to consume unreasonable amounts of carrier oil to reach their prescribed dose,” said Nico Richardson, interim CEO of Texas Original. “Texas Original takes its role as Texas’ leading medical cannabis provider seriously. We’re grateful and excited to work with Chairwoman Klick and the legislature to advance this bill to ensure better access to medical cannabis for patients throughout the state of Texas.”

Under the updated language, THC levels would be regulated by milligrams per dose instead of the percentage of THC by product weight. Volumetric limits are already in practice in nearly every state with successful medical cannabis programs, including Florida.

Moving to a volumetric limit would make medical cannabis prescriptions easier for patients to manage and reduce the ingestion of carrier oil, which can cause unwanted side effects for patients on higher prescribed doses. If medications such as ibuprofen—the active ingredient in Advil—were limited by percentage by weight like medical cannabis in Texas, one tablet of Advil could legally contain only 10 milligrams of ibuprofen. Reaching the suggested dose of 400 milligrams of Advil would require taking 40 Advil tablets.

About Texas Original

Texas Original is the leading licensed medical cannabis producer in Texas, working alongside physicians to provide the highest quality cannabis medicine to patients and families seeking relief across the state. As fellow Texans, we are dedicated to representing the integrity of this great state with our commitment to quality, consistency and purity in every product we produce. We remain committed to advancing safe, legal access to this powerful medicine. Texas Original is headquartered in Austin, with delivery throughout the entire state.