SB 1505 expands how to photograph cannabis by adding more licensed clinics, pickup locations.
Austin, Texas – State Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) has introduced a bill to expand access to medical marijuana through the Texas Compassionate Use Program (CUP).
Jacob Ortiz’s health wasn’t always on the rise.
“His epilepsy was sporadic. It was unpredictable,” said Jacob’s mother, Kaylee Koch. “He has what is considered a complicated partial seizure.”
Koch said in 2020 that doctors prescribed his son’s medical marijuana in a cup because his epilepsy medication stopped working.
“I don’t know if I really remember that.
“We started medical cannabis, so now it’s almost four. It’s been seizure-free for five years,” Koch said.
Senate Bill 1505 aims to expand access to the program in many ways, including changing the measurement methods to allow access to other forms of medication.
“We weighed 1% of CAP,” said Nico Richardson, CEO of Texas Originals. “(If the law passes) now we’re going to change this to what we call volumetric dosage, meaning we’re talking about milligrams of active material.”
Instead of selling only food like gami, this change will allow providers to offer items such as inhalers, patches, capsules and more.
“This is really important for patients with episode conditions, where they feel like something is coming right away and they want to feel at once more relieved,” Richardson said.
“(It’s) very easy for anyone approaching their teenage years and I don’t necessarily want to bring a tincture for anything,” Koch said.
The bill also allows licensed clinics to operate satellite storage facilities to ensure patients have easy access to prescriptions.
Richardson said the drugs must now be stored in one facility and dropped across Texas using a driver.
“It can be very expensive and lead to quite extensive waiting times for patients to take their medication,” Richardson said. “This should make the medication cheaper and more accessible to patients across the state.”
Richardson said the lack of access has prevented the program from growing over the last few years.
The bill calls for the addition of six more licensed clinics to Texas. Currently, there are only three.
“Hopefully it reaches someone who might be questioning what the options are,” Koch said.
The senator heard testimony on Monday, but so far no action has been taken against the bill.
