2015 Texas Statutes
OCCUPATIONS CODE
TITLE 3 - HEALTH PROFESSIONS
SUBTITLE B - PHYSICIANS
CHAPTER 169 - AUTHORITY TO PRESCRIBE LOW-THC CANNABIS TO CERTAIN PATIENTS FOR COMPASSIONATE USE

OCCUPATIONS CODE

TITLE 3. HEALTH PROFESSIONS

SUBTITLE B. PHYSICIANS

CHAPTER 169. AUTHORITY TO PRESCRIBE LOW-THC CANNABIS TO CERTAIN PATIENTS FOR COMPASSIONATE USE

Sec. 169.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety.

(2) "Intractable epilepsy" means a seizure disorder in which the patient's seizures have been treated by two or more appropriately chosen and maximally titrated antiepileptic drugs that have failed to control the seizures.

(3) "Low-THC cannabis" means the plant Cannabis sativa L., and any part of that plant or any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, preparation, resin, or oil of that plant that contains:

(A) not more than 0.5 percent by weight of tetrahydrocannabinols; and

(B) not less than 10 percent by weight of cannabidiol.

(4) "Medical use" means the ingestion by a means of administration other than by smoking of a prescribed amount of low-THC cannabis by a person for whom low-THC cannabis is prescribed under this chapter.

(5) "Smoking" means burning or igniting a substance and inhaling the smoke.

Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 301 (S.B. 339), Sec. 4, eff. June 1, 2015.

Sec. 169.002. PHYSICIAN QUALIFIED TO PRESCRIBE LOW-THC CANNABIS. (a) Only a physician qualified as provided by this section may prescribe low-THC cannabis in accordance with this chapter.

(b) A physician is qualified to prescribe low-THC cannabis to a patient with intractable epilepsy if the physician:

(1) is licensed under this subtitle;

(2) dedicates a significant portion of clinical practice to the evaluation and treatment of epilepsy; and

(3) is certified:

(A) by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in:

(i) epilepsy; or

(ii) neurology or neurology with special qualification in child neurology and is otherwise qualified for the examination for certification in epilepsy; or

(B) in neurophysiology by:

(i) the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; or

(ii) the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology.

Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 301 (S.B. 339), Sec. 4, eff. June 1, 2015.

Sec. 169.003. PRESCRIPTION OF LOW-THC CANNABIS. A physician described by Section 169.002 may prescribe low-THC cannabis to alleviate a patient's seizures if:

(1) the patient is a permanent resident of the state;

(2) the physician complies with the registration requirements of Section 169.004; and

(3) the physician certifies to the department that:

(A) the patient is diagnosed with intractable epilepsy;

(B) the physician determines the risk of the medical use of low-THC cannabis by the patient is reasonable in light of the potential benefit for the patient; and

(C) a second physician qualified to prescribe low-THC cannabis under Section 169.002 has concurred with the determination under Paragraph (B), and the second physician's concurrence is recorded in the patient's medical record.

Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 301 (S.B. 339), Sec. 4, eff. June 1, 2015.

Sec. 169.004. LOW-THC CANNABIS PRESCRIBER REGISTRATION. Before a physician qualified to prescribe low-THC cannabis under Section 169.002 may prescribe or renew a prescription for low-THC cannabis for a patient under this chapter, the physician must register as the prescriber for that patient in the compassionate-use registry maintained by the department under Section 487.054, Health and Safety Code. The physician's registration must indicate:

(1) the physician's name;

(2) the patient's name and date of birth;

(3) the dosage prescribed to the patient;

(4) the means of administration ordered for the patient; and

(5) the total amount of low-THC cannabis required to fill the patient's prescription.

Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 301 (S.B. 339), Sec. 4, eff. June 1, 2015.

Sec. 169.005. PATIENT TREATMENT PLAN. A physician described by Section 169.002 who prescribes low-THC cannabis for a patient's medical use under this chapter must maintain a patient treatment plan that indicates:

(1) the dosage, means of administration, and planned duration of treatment for the low-THC cannabis;

(2) a plan for monitoring the patient's symptoms; and

(3) a plan for monitoring indicators of tolerance or reaction to low-THC cannabis.

Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 301 (S.B. 339), Sec. 4, eff. June 1, 2015.