Recommending Cannabis in Texas

Please note that because Texas's law contains language which refers to prescriptions, the following may be ruled invalid. The term prescription is used below for clarity but should be differentiated from the federal drug prescription system.

A physician who wishes to prescribe 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

The physician then registers with the DPS as a prescriber for the specific patient. That information must include:

• the physician's name
• the patient's name and date of birth
• the prescribed dosage
• the means of administration
• a total amount of low-THC cannabis to fill the prescription

The physician is 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.

Low-THC cannabis may only be prescribed for patients who are:

• permanent residents of the state of Texas diagnosed with intractable epilepsy, a seizure disorder that has been treated with two or more maximally titrated antiepileptic drugs that have been found ineffective.
• determined by the physician that the risk of the medical use of low-THC cannabis is reasonable to its potential benefit and a second physician concurs with this determination.

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