Intractable epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease. Those are some of the conditions that allow Texans access to medical marijuana.
Groups representing disabled Texans and those with severe medical conditions want to see it expanded by passing Texas HB 1535 by representative Houston Republican Stephanie Klick.
Chase Bearden, deputy director of the coalition of Texans with disabilities, is a paralyzed former gymnast and qualifies due to spasticity in his legs. "As a quadriplegic and someone who is paralyzed from the chest down, I deal a lot of with spasm and chronic pain."
Before that, he had been on opoiods for a decade. "Medical cannabis could and has for many people, help them work their way off narcotics that they're having to take for chronic pain."
Under current law, people with terminal cancer qualify. The new legislation would open the program up for all Texans with cancer. It would also allow Texans who suffer from PTSD access.
He notes medical marijuana may not be for everyone. "But it works really well for some, and it gives people options besides having to use certain prescriptions that have more side effects. They may want to decide to go this route, and see how it improves their quality of life. "
The current program is considered a low THC program. It only allows .5% THC. This bill boosts that to 5% THC. "That way they had more room to work with the pain relief side. Some people need a certain level of THC mixed in, under the current law it forces you to take a lot of oil in one day. That has its own issues. If we could have corrected it up to 5%, that would have given the three current licensees here in Texas a little more room to work with doctors to create some different products that would have allowed people not to consume so much oil." He says all you can get is either tinctures or some kind of edible. Bearden says the side effects can cause higher cholesterol and gastrointestinal issues. He says 5% would still keep Texas as one of the states with the lowest allowable level of THC.
He says the bill is running out of time. "We have legislators and family members who have talked about and seen how much this can improve people's lives. The way to do that is to have a regulated system where you are working with your doctor." He says without the program, people will obtain the drug illegally, which can be dangerous, or go somewhere where it's legal and bring it back to Texas.
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