Medical Marijuana To Be Available More Widely in Texas As Abbott Signs Bill

Easier access to medical marijuana for Texan veterans and cancer patients

Marijuana LeafPhoto by Kym MacKinnon on Unsplash

On June 15th, Governor Greg Abbott followed through on his stated intent to sign a new bill expanding the availability of medical marijuana for cancer patients, as well as veterans and others suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

He had previously hinted at his intention to approve the bill that was approved unanimously by the state senate on 25th May:

Source: Twitter

While the bill was approved with strong support, it underwent some modifications. Most notably, it ha d originally proposed an increase on the permissable THC limit from 0.5% to 5%, but following a substitution from Republican representative for Georgetown, Sen. Charles Schwertner, the cap was dropped back down to 1%.

The bill had previously also included application of medical marijuana for sufferers of chronic pain that would usually be treated via opioids, but this eligibility was later removed.

Separate bills to reduce penalties for possessing cannabis concentrates, revise the state’s hemp program and broadly decriminalize marijuana possession also advanced —but they had not been considered by the June 15th session’s end.

Opiates in favor of marijuana?

Commenting on the bill, Morris Denton, CEO of medical cannabis company Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, was generally supportive but he feels that an opportunity has been missed:

" ...as big believers in the medicine that this plant can create, we’re disappointed to see they left out the millions of Texans suffering from chronic pain whose only real avenues are opioids, over-the-counter pain medicine or being forced to go to the illegal market in order to self medicate.”

The motivation for excluding such conditions from the bill is as yet unclear other than perhaps to adopt medical marijuana more gradually so as to observe the effects of its use in practice?

Winds of change for marijuana in Texas?

The bill reducing penalties for cannabis possession may yet be approved and this could be seen as a politically positive move for Abbott as he moves closer to his campaign for re-election in 2022. The San Antonio Current shared findings of a February poll from the University of Texas at Austin and The Texas Tribune which found that 60% of Texans said small or large amounts of marijuana for any purpose should be legal.

MarijuanaPhoto by Elsa Olofsson on Unsplash

Legalisation an inevitability?

Since Canada made marijuana fully legal for medical and leisure purposes in 2018, many believe that it's a logical progression that similar nations (such as the USA, UK and Australia) would follow suit for the same reasons.

At the time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that the old way of controlling marijuana simply wasn't working - the sale and purchase of it, illegally meant that links were intrinsically forged with the world of criminality. Pushing it underground prevents any government from being able to control or influence the situation.

Commenting on the topic in March of this year, Boris Jordan, the Chairman of Massachusetts-based marijuana retailer Curaleaf said he believes that the full legalization of marijuana in the USA is an inevitability.

Currently it's still illegal at a Federal level but has been permitted by various states including Alaska, California and Illinois. Jordan believes that the legalization will be completed within Joe Biden's first term as President, putting it in no uncertain terms:

“It is a question of when, not if,”

Marijuana - a valuable business

A Globe Newswire report issued in late 2020 estimates that the global legal marijuana industry was valued at $17.5billion in 2019 and is projected to grow by around 17.8% per year to $65.1billion by 2027. With such valuations in their sights, it seems logical that corporations like Curaleaf would be keen to position themselves as a key player in the market.

In turn, states who consider legalizing marijuana fully as the move in Texas seems to suggest is likely - could benefit from enticing further businesses to the state along with associated tax revenue. That too may be material to Abbott's decision to approve the bill, if he's taking a long-term view.

Follow me to see more articles like this.

...

Follow