More conditions now covered by Texas medical marijuana law

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(Texas News Service)
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After more than 10 years in existence, Texas’ medical marijuana law has been expanded to include more illnesses and conditions.

The Compassionate Use Program, which allows doctors to prescribe low doses of THC, now covers patients with chronic pain, traumatic brain injuries, Crohn’s disease and several other conditions.

The expansion also allows for vape products to be sold at licensed dispensaries.

Jervonne Singletary, vice president of compliance and government relations with goodblend Texas, said the changes remove some of the stigma surrounding cannabis use.

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"Being able to come into a dispensary and talk to a knowledgeable individual, I think, is a huge benefit. Opening up the program to additional conditions allowed some people, who were not comfortable with a lot of the unregulated hemp in the market, to come into a more regulated program," Singletary said.

Only physicians registered with Texas Compassionate Use can write a prescription for medical marijuana in Texas. A list of prescribing doctors can be found on the goodblend Texas website.

The Department of Justice recently issued FDA approval for medical marijuana. It’s currently legal in 40 states and some U.S. territories.

Singletary said legislators could make further changes to the law to help Texans as they travel.

"And there are opportunities for people to purchase medical marijuana as they're visiting other states. So, there may be opportunities to think about, how do we provide residents with a card, so they feel more secure in having that medical marijuana if they were to travel to another state or county," Singletary said.

It’s still illegal to transport medical marijuana across state lines, even if traveling to a state where it’s legal.

There are currently three dispensaries in the state, and the expansion allows for 15 total locations.