Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed House Bill 46 into law, improving access to the state’s medical cannabis Compassionate Use Program.
Previously, the Program was confined to very low-THC medical cannabis and a handful of qualifying conditions. The changes brought about by HB 46, taking effect on September 1, 2025 include:
- More qualifying conditions — including chronic pain.
- Higher THC formulations (up to 10mg per dose unit).
- Vaporizing cannabis permitted (smoking still not permitted) along with other new forms of administration.
- Doctors can authorize up to a 90-day supply of medical cannabis.
- 12 more licenses for dispensers.
Previously, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) didn’t consider Texas a medical cannabis state given the restrictions of the Compassionate Use Program. That view has now changed.
“”Following in the footsteps of 39 other states, Texas has embraced a commonsense policy that will ensure that Texans facing serious medical conditions have access to a medicine that’s already successfully improving lives nationwide,” said Lauren Daly, Interim Executive Director at MPP.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is also now classifying Texas as the 40th medical cannabis state after the expansions.
Commenting on a slew of bills signed into law on June 21, Governor Abbott said:
“…. I signed critical legislation passed in the 89th Regular Legislative Session that protects the safety of Texans and safeguards the individual freedoms that our great state was founded on. Working with the Texas Legislature, we will keep Texas the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”
According to Texas Cannabis Information and based on information from the Texas Department of Public Safety , 112,495 patients were actively enrolled in the state’s Compassionate Use Program as at April 2025; up from 82,475 in April 2024.
Legislation establishing the Compassionate Use Program was enacted in 2015 and the program was expanded in 2021. That expansion allowed for patients with PTSD and all types of cancer to qualify and upped the THC threshold from 0.5 to one percent.
In other cannabis news out of Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has opted to veto a bill that would have seen a ban on hemp-derived THC in the state. This follows a backlash against Senate Bill 3, with more than 150,000 people signing a petition opposing it.
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