Cancer patients and those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD in Texas are now eligible to use medical marijuana to treat their ailments as the revised medical marijuana bill, which was cleared by Texas lawmakers, has come into effect from Wednesday.
As per the revised law, patients suffering from any form of cancer can buy low-THC cannabis for their treatment. Earlier, the prescription was limited only to those suffering from terminal cancer. The much-required changes to the law has also brought relief to people with PTSD, especially war veterans, who use marijuana to bring down their stress and anxiety levels.
The new law widens the horizons of the 2015 medical cannabis law and makes marijuana available to more patients, who require it for their treatment on an urgent basis. The 2015 law was drafted to make medical marijuana available for epilepsy patients, but since then many more medical conditions have joined the medical marijuana requirement list.
As per the revised law, the low-THC cannabis limit has been raised from 0.5 percent to 1 percent. This, according to marijuana experts, gives easy access to using cannabis for medical purposes.
The 2015 medical cannabis law initially was intended for people with epilepsy. Since then, several other conditions have been added to eligibility list.
San Antonio attorney Joe Hoelscher, who is supportive of the new law, said, "We're less progressive than, say, Oklahoma and Utah, but this expansion is starting to put us in line more with other states. And, the methods of accessing medical marijuana in the Lone Star State are evolving."
"National ethics rules have been very restrictive about prescribing cannabis because it's not FDA-approved. Most states allow physicians to recommend it. However, there are doctors in Texas who will prescribe it.", he added.
According to the Texas chapter of the National Organization for Reforming Marijuana Law, at present there are around 7,500 patients in the state, who have been enrolled in the program to avail this medication. With the new law in place, these patients as well as many more requiring medical marijuana for treatment, will benefit.
Medical clinics across Texas state are offering the weed in the form of gummies, cream or oil. None of these items are smokeable, as that is not permitted under the law. With the law coming into force, Texas clinics are getting calls from patients, especially army veterans with stress disorders, to avail the treatment as soon as possible.
Industry experts believe that while the revised law is good news, much more needs to be done in the case of Texas's medical marijuana laws, like granting permission for patients and doctors to decide which health conditions would benefit from cannabis instead of waiting for lawmakers.
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