More and More Texans Are Using Medical Marijuana
It appears as though more Texans want access to medical marijuana, an issue that not all statewide Republicans agree on.
Across the United States, more and more states are approving the use of medical marijuana, while here in Texas, the use of marijuana for medical reasons continues to expand though not as quickly as some would like to see.
In 2015, Governor Abbott signed a bill called The Compassionate Use Act which allowed doctors to prescribe THC to some patients with epilepsy. Since the bill was signed into law, the bill has expanded allowing more Texans with other medical conditions to benefit.
According to KXAN, the Texas DPS Public Safety Commission on Thursday to more action expand the program once again.
“For the last 18 months, we have seen a significant increase in the growth of patients within the program, approximately averaging about a 10% month-over-month growth,” Chief Wayne Mueller of the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
In the next 18 to 24 months, there will likely be 100,000 patients in Texas using medical marijuana, Mueller said.
But as the number of patients rises, there are still only three licensed cannabis providers in the state, according to reporting by Austin Business Journal. In comparison, while Florida has significantly more patients enrolled in its medical marijuana program (they have over 700,000 patients), it has 22 different dispensing organizations, Mueller said
This is obviously a growing issue in Texas and one that state lawmakers will need to address in more detail at some point. Though it doesn't appear as though there is much of a push right now to expand medical marijuana in Texas among the statewide officials.