The Texas Senate unanimously approved House Bill 46 on Tuesday, a measure that broadens the state’s medical marijuana program by expanding eligible conditions and allowing vaporized and aerosol cannabis products by prescription.
Sponsored by Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian), the bill includes seven amendments and will permit patients to access new medical marijuana forms such as patches, lotions, inhalers, and vaping devices. The Texas House previously passed the bill 122-21, and the Senate’s approval now sends it back to the House for final consideration before it reaches Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
If enacted, the legislation would add chronic pain and terminal or hospice care to the list of qualifying medical conditions. Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) clarified that the chronic pain designation primarily targets patients already prescribed opiates, referencing the medical board’s existing pain definitions.
“When you get an opiate, that is the highest level of pain you can get in our bodies,” Perry said. “We tied it to the medical definition because there wasn’t a legislative one.”
The bill also addresses regulatory challenges facing Texas’s medical cannabis industry by permitting licensed dispensers to open additional satellite locations. Currently, all cultivation, processing, and dispensing must occur at a single licensed site, which increases costs and limits patient access.
Under the new law, dispensaries could store and distribute products at multiple locations, reducing expensive and inefficient daily travel of inventory across the state. Perry noted, “This should help alleviate some of the costs because they will be able to store it in those distribution centers.”
A key change is the authorization of vaporized and aerosol marijuana products, such as vapes, into the medical program. Presently, Texas limits medical cannabis sales to gummies, lozenges, topicals, beverages, and tinctures, excluding smoking or vaping products. This limitation has driven patients to seek cheaper, unregulated hemp products widely sold without medical oversight.
Recent state legislation cracking down on the hemp market has sparked backlash from medical users, including veterans and families relying on hemp for therapeutic purposes. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick defended the crackdown, stating it aims to eliminate “bad actors” who profit by selling unsafe products to communities.
“We have wiped them out and are now building one of the biggest Compassionate Use Programs in the country,” Patrick said during the bill’s hearing.
Opponents of the hemp ban raised concerns about restricted access to alternative treatments. Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) emphasized the state’s priority to protect youth from narcotics, noting, “Never under any terms did we intend for a child to go to the convenience store and get a vape pen.”
House Bill 46 represents a significant step toward modernizing Texas’s medical marijuana laws, expanding patient options, and addressing the challenges posed by the unregulated hemp market. The bill now awaits final House approval before potentially becoming law.
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