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Marijuana Bill unanimously passes Texas Senate

Posted at 9:28 PM, May 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-22 22:28:42-04

A bill that will expand medical marijuana’s legality passed unopposed in the Texas Senate.

The bill, called HB 3703, will allow patients with specific ailments to have access to a state medical program that allows for the use of cannabis with trace amounts of THC.

According to the Texas Tribune, before, the Compassionate Use Act allowed for only one disease to be treated with hemp, intractable epilepsy. The new bill would allow medical marijuana use if people are diagnosed with medical seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, terminal cancer, incurable Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease, autism, and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Notably, the bill has no inclusion for patients with PTSD or chronic pain.

The next step is for the state House to agree on the Senate’s version of the Bill so it can head to the governor’s office to be signed.