Compassionate Texas? Only If the Senate Feels Like It.

Stone Slade

05-15-2025

Original High At 9 News Article

It’s always been a little ironic that something called the Texas Compassionate Use Program is one of the least compassionate medical cannabis programs in the country.

But maybe, just maybe, that could change. If the Texas Senate decides to get on board with what the House just passed.

House Bill 46, a bipartisan measure from Republican Ken King and Democrat Penny Morales Shaw, passed the Texas House with a 118-16 vote. A final third reading passed too, despite 21 lawmakers trying to block even a modest expansion, and despite a flood of reefer madness from prohibitionist groups still clinging to long-debunked myths.

HB 46 would finally add chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, traumatic brain injury, degenerative disc disease, glaucoma, and other conditions to the list of qualifying conditions under Texas’ low-THC medical program. It also opens the door for honorably discharged veterans with any condition their doctor deems appropriate.

And it takes a big step forward on how that medicine can be delivered. We’re talking vapes, nebulizers, patches, and even suppositories.

Rep. King, speaking on the House floor, called this a veteran priority. He said, “There are too many Texans who are still struggling to get access to the medicine they legally have a right to receive.”

But of course, the usual suspects couldn’t let this progress slide without a panic. The Texas Eagle Forum warned lawmakers that treating chronic pain could somehow lead to fentanyl use, psychosis, and, apparently, the apocalypse. They claimed 70 percent of fentanyl users started with cannabis.

They also opposed letting veterans with PTSD access cannabis, arguing we’re offering them “numbness and escapism” instead of “helping them thrive.” Because, apparently, giving vets a shot at relief is less patriotic than making them suffer in silence.

This is the kind of propaganda that’s kept Texas stuck for years. No flower. A 1 percent THC limit. Endless hoops for patients to jump through. And for what?

Meanwhile, over on the adult-use hemp side of the state’s THC schizophrenia, we’ve still got Senate Bill 3. The original version wanted to ban all forms of hemp derived THC.

The new version, CSSB 3, takes a cue from the alcohol industry. It allows adults 21 and up to buy edibles and drinks with up to 10 milligrams of THC, tinctures up to 25 milligrams, and low-THC flower. But vapes would still be banned. Because apparently, the same THC molecule becomes a menace the moment you put it in a safe, tested vape device.

And in a plot twist no one asked for, the bill shifts regulation from the Department of State Health Services to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. This bill still does enormous damage to the Texas hemp industry and will put many business owners out of business. 

So to recap: One bill expands medical access for suffering Texans. The other tries to restrict how adults legally consume hemp-derived THC. One helps veterans. The other bans their preferred delivery method. One acknowledges real pain. The other claims it’s all in your head.

And with the session ending June 2, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is already teasing a special session to ban all THC not funneled through the state’s rigid medical program.

Because when it comes to cannabis, Texas politicians never miss a chance to do too little or the absolute wrong thing.

The House took a rare step forward. Now it’s up to the Senate to decide if Texas will finally show some compassion, or if they’ll double down on fear, misinformation, and the outdated belief that cannabis is more dangerous than doing nothing at all.