By Tom Angell
Medical cannabis could be coming to the Lone Star State in 2017.
On Tuesday, State Sen. José Menéndez (D-San Antonio) pre-filed a bill to make Texas the 29th state in the U.S. with a comprehensive medical marijuana law.
“Doctors, not politicians, should be determining what is best for Texas patients,” Menéndez said, surrounded by medical cannabis supporters at a press conference to announce the legislation. “This is legitimate medicine that can help a of variety people, from the grandmother suffering from cancer to the veteran coping with PTSD after returning home from war.”
Menéndez’s bill, SB 269, would allow people with cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, HIV/AIDS, chronic pain and other conditions to get doctors’ recommendations to legally use and cultivate cannabis.
Texas already has a law allowing people with intractable epilepsy to use low-THC cannabidiol oil.
Earlier this year, the state Republican Party inserted plank in its platform calling for that existing law, which Menéndez co-authored, to be expanded along the lines of what his new bill would to.
“We call upon the Texas Legislature to improve the 2015 Compassionate Use Act to allow doctors to determine the appropriate use of cannabis to prescribed patients,” the platform reads, making it clear that the state GOP wants doctors to be able to recommend marijuana for whatever conditions they find appropriate on a case-by-case basis.
But Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, says he’s opposed to further marijuana reforms, despite his party’s platform.
The state Democratic Party goes even further in its platform, calling for “the passage of legislation to decriminalize the possession of cannabis and regulate its use, cultivation, production, and sale as is done with tobacco and alcohol.”
The legislative session begins on January 10. A number of other marijuana bills have already been pre-filed, including ones that would decriminalize possession or put referenda on the state ballot to allow voters to enact medical cannabis or full legalization.
