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Read. Follow. Verify.Texas HB 1504 Expands Medical Cannabis Program, Licenses Testing Facilities, and Authorizes Patient Registries
Last action · March 12, 2025: Referred to Public HealthSponsor: Ron Reynolds
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What This Bill Proposed
Texas HB 1504 authorizes the possession, cultivation, distribution, and delivery of full medical cannabis for qualifying patients with specified debilitating medical conditions, replaces the prior low-THC limits, and establishes licensing for cannabis testing facilities and registry cards for patients and caregivers.
Qualifying patients with debilitating medical conditions gain legal protection from arrest and prosecution, access to broader medical cannabis formulations through licensed s, and alternative practitioner recommendations from advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants.
- Texas previously operated a restrictive Compassionate-Use Program limited strictly to low-THC cannabis prescribed by specialized physicians for specific conditions. context
- House Bill 1504 was introduced in the 89th Texas Legislature by Representative Reynolds and referred to the Public Health committee. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Qualifying patients
Qualifying patients gain legal protections from arrest, expanded access to medical cannabis formulations, and authorization to possess specified amounts of cannabis or plants for medical use.
Dispensing organizations
Dispensing organizations are subject to updated licensing standards, annual fee adjustments, mandatory product testing and labeling requirements, and new verification duties.
Medical practitioners
Licensed physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and physician assistants gain the authority to recommend medical cannabis via written certifications and must register in the compassionate-use registry.
Cannabis testing facilities
Cannabis testing facilities become formally licensed entities required to test the safety and potency of medical cannabis under Department of Public Safety rules.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to receive medical cannabis under this bill?
Can medical practitioners other than doctors recommend medical cannabis?
Are local governments allowed to ban medical cannabis businesses or cultivation?
What happens if a patient has applied for a registry card but has not yet received it?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Mar 12, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Public Health
- Mar 12, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time
- Dec 4, 2024HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition from Low-THC to Full Medical Cannabis Framework
The bill comprehensively strikes references to 'low-THC cannabis' and replaces them with 'medical cannabis', broadening qualifying conditions and authorized practitioner types.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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