All Roll Calls
Yes: 399 • No: 38
TexasHB 4689th Legislature Regular SessionHouseWALLET
Relating to the medical use of low-THC cannabis under and the administration of the Texas Compassionate-Use Program; requiring registration.
Sponsored By: Ken King, Suleman Lalani, Joe Moody, Tom Oliverson, Charles Perry (Republican), Mihaela Plesa
Signed by Governor
Crimes--DrugsHealth--Other Diseases & Medical ConditionsMental Health & Substance AbuseOccupational Regulation--Health OccupationsProtection of Personal InformationMARIHUANAMEDICINE & PRESCRIPTION DRUGSHEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSIONPUBLIC SAFETY, DEPARTMENT OF
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
8 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 2 costs, 3 mixed.
More patients qualify for medical cannabis
Beginning September 1, 2025, more permanent Texas residents qualify for low-THC cannabis. Added conditions include traumatic brain injury, Crohn’s disease, other inflammatory bowel disease, and terminal illness or conditions receiving hospice or palliative care. Chronic pain also qualifies when severe, continuous or recurring for more than 90 days, and linked to a chronic disease process. It must not respond to the treatments specified in the law and must be treatable with THC. A registered doctor must certify the diagnosis to the state and find the risk reasonable compared with the possible benefit.
Patients gain inhalation options with supply limits
Patients can use low-THC cannabis through ingestion, absorption, or insertion, but smoking remains excluded. A doctor can prescribe an aerosol or vapor for inhalation when medically necessary and must state the THC per dose. Each prescription is limited to a 90-day supply based on the prescribed dose. It can include up to four refills, each covering 90 days, and more than one package during a 90-day period. The state health agency must set rules and review timelines for approving inhalation devices.
Cannabis patients gain registry privacy protections
Patient-identifying registry information is confidential, including whether someone is listed as a patient. Only the Texas Department of Public Safety, registered doctors, and dispensing organizations can access it for program purposes. The information is exempt from public-records disclosure. At a patient’s request, the department can release that patient’s information to the patient or someone the patient names.
More licensed providers for cannabis patients
The Texas Department of Public Safety must issue 15 dispensing-organization licenses if enough eligible applicants apply. Initial applications receive a competitive review, and licensing must support patient access in every public health region. The law requires at least nine new licenses by December 1, 2025, using applications filed before July 1, 2025. It requires at least three more by April 1, 2026, using applications filed at any time. Applicants must show technical skills, staffing and resources, accessible premises, safeguards against diversion, and money to operate for at least two years.
Medical cannabis products face new limits
Low-THC cannabis can contain no more than 10 milligrams of THC per dose, replacing the old one-percent-by-weight limit. Each package, container, or inhalation device can contain no more than one gram of THC in total. Dispensed products can contain only cannabinoids that meet the law’s definition of phytocannabinoids. That definition includes specified naturally occurring cannabis substances, interacting substances, and products made by decarboxylation without a chemical catalyst.
Cannabis providers face stricter license rules
Newly licensed organizations must start dispensing within 24 months and keep dispensing throughout their license term. The state must monitor operations and revoke licenses when organizations miss that deadline or stop dispensing. Applicants who have never held a license have no right to a hearing when their application is denied. Applicants denied renewal, and those who previously held a license, retain the hearing rights described in the law. Required program rules must be adopted by October 1, 2025.
Cannabis providers face staff registration rules
License applicants must provide names and addresses for directors, owners, managers, members, and employees, who must register. Before hiring a manager or employee, a licensed organization must give the person’s name to the state. License transfers require the covered people to pass criminal-history checks and register first. The hiring and transfer screening rules do not apply to listed people without direct control over daily operations.
More cannabis pickup sites with regional caps
Licensed organizations can use state-approved satellite sites for secure cannabis storage, distribution, and patient pickup. Each organization is limited to one satellite site per public health region, and state approval is required before opening. The state must act on satellite applications within 180 days. Pickup sites approved before September 1, 2025, can count as approved satellite sites if they meet secure-storage requirements. Local governments cannot ban the program’s authorized growing, production, storage, dispensing, or possession.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsors
Ken King
House
Suleman Lalani
House
Joe Moody
House
Tom Oliverson
House
Charles Perry
Republican • Senate
Mihaela Plesa
House
Cosponsors
Carol Alvarado
Democratic • Senate
Paul Bettencourt
Republican • Senate
César Blanco
Democratic • Senate
Donna Campbell
Republican • Senate
Drew Darby
House
Pete Flores
Republican • Senate
Jessica González
House
Roland Gutierrez
Democratic • Senate
Bob Hall
Republican • Senate
Adam Hinojosa
Republican • Senate
Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa
Democratic • Senate
Andy Hopper
House
Nathan Johnson
Democratic • Senate
Lois Kolkhorst
Republican • Senate
Marc LaHood
House
José Menéndez
Democratic • Senate
Borris L. Miles
Democratic • Senate
Penny Morales Shaw
House
Matt Morgan
House
Katrina Pierson
House
Ron Reynolds
House
Kevin Sparks
Republican • Senate
Royce West
Democratic • Senate
Roll Call Votes
Senate vote • 6/1/2025
Record vote
Yes: 0 • No: 0
House vote • 6/1/2025
Record vote
Yes: 138 • No: 1
Senate vote • 5/27/2025
Record vote
Yes: 0 • No: 0
Senate vote • 5/27/2025
Record vote
Yes: 0 • No: 0
House vote • 5/13/2025
Record vote
Yes: 122 • No: 21
House vote • 5/12/2025
Record vote
Yes: 118 • No: 16
House vote • Unknown
Committee vote: Public Health
Yes: 12 • No: 0
Senate vote • Unknown
Committee vote: State Affairs
Yes: 9 • No: 0
Bill Text
Engrossed
Enrolled
House Committee Report
Introduced
Senate Committee Report
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