Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has signed legislation into law expanding patients’ access to state-qualified medical cannabis products.
House Bill 46 opens the Texas Compassionate Use Program to include those suffering from chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and other newly eligible conditions. It also expands the variety of cannabis formulations that patients may possess and significantly increases the total number of state-licensed dispensaries that can operate in the state from three to a total of fifteen.
Under the revised law, which takes effect on September 1, 2025, patients are permitted to vaporize but not smoke cannabis. Medical cannabis products may not exceed 10 mgs of THC per dosing unit. Physicians may authorize up to a 90-day supply of medical cannabis to qualifying patients.
According to 2025 data provided by the Texas Department of Safety, over 105,000 patients are active participants in the Compassionate Use Program. Lawmakers initially enacted legislation establishing the Compassionate Use Program in 2015 and expanded it in 2021. Following these latest expansions, NORML classifies Texas as the 40th medical cannabis state.
Additional information about the Texas Compassionate Use Program is available online.
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