A bill has been filed to expand access to Texas’ medical cannabis program.
SB 1505, filed by Sen. Charles Perry, would add more licensed dispensaries, pickup locations and expand the ways cannabis can be taken.
Texas’ medical cannabis program operates under the Texas Compassionate Use Act, originally enacted in 2015. It is one of the most restrictive medical cannabis programs in the United States, limiting access to low-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) cannabis products (currently capped at 1% THC by weight) for patients with specific qualifying conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer, PTSD, and a few others.
The program has seen incremental expansions over the years, notably in 2021 with House Bill 1535, which added PTSD and all forms of cancer as qualifying conditions and raised the THC cap from 0.5% to 1%.
The 2025 Texas legislative session, which began on January 14, 2025, has already seen competing proposals ranging from recreational legalization to stricter THC bans.
SB 1505 focuses on improving access and delivery mechanisms within the existing Texas Compassionate Use Program rather than fundamentally altering its structure (e.g., THC limits or qualifying conditions).
SB 1505 proposes to increase the number of licensed dispensaries in Texas, which has only three licensed dispensing organizations under the Compassionate Use Program—Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, Surterra Texas (operating as Goodblend), and Compassionate Cultivation.
This is good. Texas medical patients like Elizabeth Miller have highlighted in legislative testimony the program’s inaccessibility due to its “overly narrow” scope and limited distribution points.
SB1505 includes plans to add pickup locations for medical cannabis products, as well. Patients currently get products directly from dispensaries or through limited delivery options, which are not widely available. Delivery was expanded in 2021, but not enough. Pickup locations offer a middle ground between full dispensaries and home delivery, streamlining access without requiring every location to be a fully licensed cultivator or processor.
SB 1505 aims to expand the methods of administration for medical cannabis. Texas law currently prohibits smoking medical cannabis, restricting use to tinctures, oils, edibles (like gummies), and other non-inhalable forms. SB1505 could potentially allow inhalation methods (e.g., vaping or smoking) or introduce new formulations like transdermal patches or suppositories.
Smoking or vaping is likely to face significant pushback from conservative lawmakers like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has historically opposed measures perceived as softening cannabis laws. The 2023 failure of HB 1805 in the Senate, despite House approval, suggests that expanding administration methods beyond the current “medical” framework might be infeasible.
The 2025 session features competing cannabis views. Rep. Jessica González’s HB 1208, filed in November 2024, seeks recreational legalization, while Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Charles Perry’s Senate Bill 3 aims to ban all consumable THC products, including hemp-derived delta-8 and delta-9. SB 1505 occupies a moderate position, focusing on medical expansion rather than recreational or prohibitive extremes.
Medical cannabis expansions have had more success than recreational proposals in Texas. HB 1535 (2021) and HB 3703 (2019) passed with bipartisan support, though often watered down in the Senate.
Enhanced access could benefit the estimated 2 million Texans eligible under current law, only a fraction of whom (10,000–12,000) are active participants.
More dispensaries and pickup points could boost the state’s small medical cannabis industry, currently dominated by Texas Original and a few others. However, it won’t address the unregulated hemp market unless paired with stricter enforcement.
All-in-all,SB 1505 seeks to expand the Texas Compassionate Use Program by adding up to three more dispensaries (total six), authorizing satellite pickup locations, and allowing vaping as a delivery method—all while maintaining the 1% THC cap and current conditions.
