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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Red Light

San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

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