RECOMMENDING CANNABIS IN TEXAS

Physicians wishing to recommend low-THC cannabis must meet the following requirements:

  • Licensed to practice medicine in the state of Texas
  • Dedicates a significant portion of his or her clinical practice to evaluate and treat epilepsy
  • Is certified by either
    • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in:
      • Epilepsy
      • Neurology
      • Neurology with special qualification in child neurology
    • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology or the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology in
      • Neurophysiology

Physicians meeting these requirements must register with the DPS as a prescriber for the specific patient. That information must include:

  • Physician’s name
  • patient's name and date of birth
  • Prescribed dosage
  • means of administration
  • A total amount of low-THC cannabis to fill the prescription

Physicians are also required to maintain a patient treatment plan that tracks:

  • dosage, means of administration, and duration of treatment
  • plan for monitoring symptoms
  • plan for monitoring indicators of tolerance or reaction to cannabis.

Eligible Medical Conditions:

  • Epilepsy
  • Seizure disorders
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Spasticity
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  • Autism
  • Terminal cancer
  • An incurable neurodegenerative disease

Medical professionals have a legal right to recommend cannabis as a treatment in any state, as protected by the First Amendment. Established by a 2004 United States Supreme Court decision to uphold earlier federal court rulings that found doctors and their patients have a fundamental Constitutional right to freely discuss treatment options.

More resources for medical professionals can be found here.