Texas Legalizes Cannabis Oil for Epilepsy Patients; Access to Recreational Usage Banned
Greg Abbott, the Republican Gov. signed legislation for legalization of cannabis oil for epilepsy patients with a valid prescription, but denied legalizing it for recreational purpose or any other medicinal purpose as long as he’s in the position.
State Sen. Kevin Eltife’s (R-Tyler) Texas Compassionate Use Act will legalize cannabis oils having marijuana’s non-euphoric component CBD for treating chronic medical conditions like epilepsy.
Patients who have not positively responded to medications approved by the federal government will be given this oil extract.
This oil extract, which is taken from cannabis plants, helps in controlling seizures without producing a high. The present bill approval is expected to be helpful for around 150,000 Texans suffering from epilepsy. It calls for the Department of Public Safety of Texas to draft rules for getting and distributing cannabis oil specifically cultivated with very low THC content.
Gov. Abbott stated, “There is currently no cure for intractable epilepsy and many patients have had little to no success with currently approved drugs. However, we have seen promising results from CBD oil testing and with the passage of this legislation, there is now hope for thousands of families who deal with the effects of intractable epilepsy every day.”
Around 20 states permit some kind of medicinal cannabis, though Abbott indicated that Texas would not join the list. But, cannabis reform supporters have shown hope that restricted approval of marijuana oil would be a positive step towards bringing about a change in the state.
Few of the bill opponents hit from either sides, with some stating that the move would gradually result in legalization of cannabis, while others were disappointed that the legislation didn’t go far enough as it left out PTSD and cancer patients. Only patients suffering from epilepsy are eligible for getting cannabis oil treatment. However, with this step, there’s some hope of the other bills also being considered down the lane.
Out of almost a dozen bills submitted for the session, this was the only one to be approved and it calls for non profit organizations carefully scrutinized by the DPS to be authorized to distribute the product.
Texas is presently one of the 13 states where cannabis is not legal for recreational and medical usage. In the last few years, 14 states have approved CBD oil legalization for specific medicinal usage, while the District of Columbia and 23 others have rules permitting broader usage of medicinal cannabis.
