The Basics

Medical cannabis is legal in Texas — here's everything you need to know.

Medical cannabis dispensaries licensed in the state of Texas must abide by state regulations.

Photo courtesy of Texas Original

For thousands of Texans, medical cannabis offers a life-changing solution for alleviating many symptoms associated with medical conditions. Medical cannabis is already legal in Texas for over 150 conditions. In fact, Houston’s first permanent medical cannabis pickup location opened this year.

But how does the program work, what are the current laws, and who qualifies for medical cannabis? Here, we’ll break down the basics of hemp products and medical cannabis in Texas.

In 2015, Texas passed the Compassionate Use Act. This law allowed for the first legal use of medical cannabis in the state for patients living with intractable epilepsy.

The bill also established the Compassionate Use Program, the state’s official medical cannabis program. Since 2015, the program has expanded twice, allowing for more than 150 conditions to qualify for medical cannabis.

When the Compassionate Use Program expanded in 2021, the THC percentage for the final weight of products increased from 0.5% to 1%. This means that a 1-gram gummy may contain up to 10 milligrams of THC, a 2-gram gummy may contain up to 20 milligrams of THC, and so on.

However, there is no limit to the amount of milligrams a physician may prescribe. It is still a crime to possess cannabis (over 0.3% THC by weight) not prescribed by a registered doctor for an approved condition in the state of Texas.

How do you get a prescription?
Unlike other states, Texas does not use medical cards. Instead, qualifying physicians write prescriptions that are uploaded to an online registry operated by the Department of Public Safety called the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas (CURT). The registry is accessible across the state to law enforcement agencies and dispensing organizations to verify patient prescriptions.

Qualifying conditions for medical cannabis in Texas include:

PTSD
Muscle spasms
Nerve pain
Cancer
Autism
Alzheimer’s and other dementias
ALS
Parkinson’s
Epilepsy
And over 100 more conditions

Ready to get a prescription? Click here and fill out the form to be connected with a doctor who is registered to prescribe medical cannabis.

So what’s the difference between over-the-counter hemp products and medical cannabis?
In 2018, the Farm Bill was signed into law, removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. Hemp is defined as having 0.3% THC, however, the Farm Bill only limits Delta 9 THC, unintentionally creating a loophole for an unregulated market. This loophole in the bill led to an increased interest in the hemp-derived cannabinoid market, especially in states where higher amounts of cannabis-derived Delta 9 THC products remain restricted.

Synthesized hemp-derived Delta 8, 9, and 10 THC products may pose risks for consumers due to harmful solvents and chemicals being added without adequate testing or regulation. Additionally, over-the-counter hemp products may vary in potency due to a lack of regulation, mislabeling, and inconsistent processing methods.

What makes a product “medical grade”?
Medical cannabis products are regulated under the Texas Compassionate Use Program and must follow stringent quality measures. Any product produced by a licensed medical cannabis dispensary must meet extensive in-house testing requirements to ensure the medicine does not contain contaminants and meets the state's potency requirements. Additionally, medical cannabis products should be formulated based on research and patient trials to optimize symptom relief.

What to look for in a medical cannabis dispensary
Medical cannabis dispensaries licensed in the state of Texas must abide by state regulations and ensure all products are made in-house through a vertical integration model.

A medical cannabis dispensary should:

Provide a thorough Certificate of Analysis (CoA) that is available online or attached to the medicine package.
Make medical-grade products with a rigorous quality process and provide transparency into how they are made, including making product ingredients and testing results easily accessible to the public.
Abide by state regulations and ensure all products are made in-house through a vertical integration model.
Utilize patient trials, testing research to determine the formulation of medical-grade products to ensure they are optimized to appropriately treat a variety of medical conditions and symptoms.

With the medical cannabis industry only continuing to grow, Texas Original is leading the state with pioneering expansions and new product launches, including opening Houston’s first permanent medical cannabis pickup location, debuting the state’s first fast-acting CBN gummy, and adding a fourth temporary pickup location in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

If you or a loved one are ready to start your journey with medical cannabis, reach out to Texas Original to get started. Plus, enjoy a 20 percent discount on your first order at Texas Original.

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Be Free

Free Week is ready to rock again with new City of Austin funding

Photo courtesy of Red River Cultural District / Renee Dominguez

Chancla Fight Club performs at Valhalla during a previous Free Week Festival.

The Red River Cultural District (RRCD)'s Free Week music festival is back, and perhaps better than ever after some newly secured funding from the City of Austin.

On January 3 and 4, this admission-free winter music festival will bring Austinites back-to-back performances from dozens of local musicians, spanning over 20 venues, restaurants, bars, and food trucks in the Red River area.

Free Week, which began in Austin over 20 years ago, was nearly canceled earlier in 2024 due to lack of funding. But thanks to a decision made on November 7 — after a long and hard-fought battle between RRCD and City Council — Free Week and RRCD's other popular festival Hot Summer Nights are saved for the foreseeable future.

Here's what happened, according to RRCD interim Executive Director Nicole Klepadlo.

Back in 2023, RRCD — a few blocks featuring a high concentration of popular music venues and other nightlife destinations — started pleading its case for funding with the City of Austin. At the time organizers were hoping for a cultural funding grant to help support their donation-based summer festival, Hot Summer Nights. Unfortunately it was declined and still, today, Klepadlo is not really sure why.

"We were just kind of perplexed," she says.

So, they needed to pivot. In January of 2024, they presented their case to the City of Austin's Boards and Commissions, essentially requesting funding for the district as a whole, which would ultimately support their festivals. After some back-and-forth negotiating and even rejections early in the year, finally, on November 7, the RRCD's advocacy paid off.

"We received $150,000 annually for up to four years for cultural district funding," says Klepadlo. "It will largely go to supporting Free Week and Hot Summer Nights. But it will also go to an economic analysis. One of the things people kept saying is 'What is the economic impact of your district?' So this will help leverage us for other future funding opportunities through brands or donors."

It's not just about urgent needs, now. RRCD is also planning to start work on a new "cultural history project" showcasing the area's lasting value to locals.

"We want to start diving into the musical heritage of the Red River Cultural District and start telling the stories," says Klepadlo. "Many of these venues were different venues than they are today; we've had a lot of musicians who got their start here back in the 70s."

Some of the venues and businesses involved in the RRCD include the Waterloo Amphitheater, Mohawk, Cheer Up Charlies, Stubbs, Valhalla, The 13th Floor, Elysium, Empire Control Room and Garage, Creek and Cave, Chess Club, Swan Dive, Barbarella, Flamingo Cantina, various food trucks, restaurants, and groups like the German Texas Heritage Society, the First Baptist Church, and the Austin Symphony. All told, there are about 40 businesses that are engaged on a regular basis.

Of course, it wasn't always like this. After a wave of venue closures back in 2015, a group of music venue representatives, small businesses, and members of cultural institutions all got together for one of Klepadlo's "favorite meetings" at The Mohawk.

"Back then there were over 12 independent live music venues, so there was a lot of competition," she says. "But we were all sitting around this table at Mohawk realizing, 'We've got to band together.' And that has morphed into forging this unified voice and collective, that has really ended up identifying the needs for this particular place. Not just for locals, but for jobs and tourism."

A meeting at Mohawk back in 2015 helped form what the RRCD is today.Photo from redriverculturaldistrict.org.

Another of the RRCD's hopes is that it can keep the vibe of the area intact going forward, even through the fast development is sweeping across the east side of downtown. Organizers want to collaborate with the city to make sure the district stays there (and stays cool) for years to come.

When asked if there might be something the RRCD could do to prevent venues from getting bulldozed and replaced by condos or something, Klepadlo replies, "We wish."

Right now RRCD hasn't gotten the traction or support it'd like in order to ensure that future development in the area honors what the district is all about. But Klepadlo is hopeful.

"This funding gives me hope that as we start to think about what happens to the eastern part of downtown, there will be a Red River Cultural District that looks like it does today; only more vibrant," she says. "I'm really excited to see where things go from here."

Aside from this new funding from the City of Austin, this year's Free Week is also supported by sponsors and partners like Airbnb, Austin Chronicle, KUTX 98.9 FM, Downtown Austin Alliance, The Moody Center’s Red River Rising, and many more.

The music lineup for Free Week will be revealed soon, as well as a new lineup of food and drink promotions. CultureMap will share updates as they're available.

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