Certain Texans have access to medical marijuana through the state’s Compassionate Use Program (CUP) administered by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Texans with certain medical conditions may qualify.
Texas’s Compassionate Use Program (CUP) allows certain physicians to prescribe low tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) cannabis for medical purposes. Low-THC comes from the plant Cannabis Sativa L and all parts of the plant and any resulting compounds, salts, resins, oils, and derivatives that contain no more than 0.5 percent by weight of THC are considered Low-THC.
Medical Marijuana Defense Lawyer in Plano, Allen, Frisco, and McKinney, TX
If you have been arrested for a marijuana offense in Collin County, or any of the surrounding areas in Texas, contact the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy. Our firm understands marijuana laws in Texas and knows how to help people gain access to medical marijuana.
Attorney Richard McConathy knows how frightening marijuana charges can be and will work to make sure that you are able to receive the most favorable court outcome. Call the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy at (469) 304-3422 about your marijuana charges.
Medical Benefits of Cannabis
Ingesting the cannabis plants has been shown by many studies to have a wide range of pharmaceutical applications. Many of them pertain to mitigating and managing pain. Its use can also increase appetite, frequently a critical issue with chronic conditions. By law, CUP is limited to Texas patients with:
- Epilepsy
- Seizure disorders
- Multiple sclerosis
- Spasticity
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Autism
- Terminal cancer
- An incurable neurodegenerative disease
Under the Texas Administrative Code, incurable neurodegenerative disease is a condition, injury, or illness that occurs when nerve cells in the brain or peripheral nervous system lose function over time; and for which there is no known cure. A qualifying physician under Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 169, may prescribe low-THC cannabis to a patient with a documented diagnosis of one or more of the following incurable neurodegenerative diseases:
- Incurable Neurodegenerative Diseases with Adult-Onset:
- Motor Neuron Disease:
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis;
- Spinal-bulbar muscular atrophy; and
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
- Muscular Dystrophies:
- Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy;
- Central Core; and
- Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy.
- Freidreich’s Ataxia.
- Vascular dementia.
- Charcot Marie Tooth and related hereditary neuropathies.
- Spinocerebellar ataxia.
- Familial Spastic Paraplegia.
- Progressive dystonias DYT genes 1 through 20.
- Progressive Choreas: Huntington’s Disease.
- Amyloidoses:
- Alzheimer’s Disease;
- Prion Diseases:
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease;
- Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Disease;
- Familial or Sporadic Fatal Insomnia; and
- Kuru.
- Tauopathies.
- Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy:
- Pick Disease;
- Globular Glial Tauopathy;
- Corticobasal Degeneration;
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy;
- Argyrophilic Grain Disease;
- Neurofibrillary Tangle dementia, also known as Primary Age-related Tauopathy; and
- Frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 caused by mutations in MAPT gene.
- Synucleinopathies:
- Lewy Body Disorders:
- Dementia with Lewy Bodies; and
- Parkinson’s Disease; and
- Multiple System Atrophy.
- Lewy Body Disorders:
- Transactive response DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43) Proteinopathies:
- Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration;
- Primary Lateral Sclerosis; and
- Progressive Muscular Atrophy.
- Motor Neuron Disease:
- Incurable Neurodegenerative Diseases with Pediatric Onset:
- Mitochondrial Conditions:
- Kearn Sayers Syndrome;
- Mitochondrial Encephalopathy Ragged Red Fiber;
- Mitochondrial Encephalopathy Lactic Acidosis Stroke;
- Neuropathy, Ataxia, and Retinitis Pigmentosa;
- Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalopathy;
- Polymerase G Related Disorders:
- Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome;
- Childhood Myocerebrohepatopathy spectrum;
- Myoclonic epilepsy myopathy sensory ataxia; and
- Ataxia neuropathy spectrum;
- Subacute necrotizing encephalopathy, also known as Leigh syndrome;
- Respiratory chain disorders complex 1 through 4 defects: Co Q biosynthesis defects;
- Thymidine Kinase;
- Mitochondrial Depletion syndromes types 1 through 14:
- Deoxyguanisine kinase deficiency;
- SUCLG1-related mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, encephalomyopathic form with methylmalonic aciduria; and
- RRM2B-related mitochondrial disease.
- Creatine Disorders:
- Guanidinoacetate methytransferase deficiency;
- L-Arginine/glycine amidinotransferase deficiency; and
- Creatine Transporter Defect, also known as SLC 6A8.
- Neurotransmitter defects:
- Segawa Diease, also known as Dopamine Responsive Dystonia;
- Guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase deficiency;
- Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency;
- Monoamine oxidase deficiency;
- Biopterin Defects:
- Pyruvoyl-tetahydropterin synthase;
- Sepiapterin reductase;
- Dihydropteridine reductase; and
- Pterin-4-carbinolamine dehydratase.
- Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation.
- Lysosomal Storage Diseases:
- Mucopolysaccaridosis:
- Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I, also known as Hurler Syndrome or Scheie Syndrome;
- Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II, also known as Hunter Syndrome;
- Mucopolysaccharidosis Type III, also known as Sanfilippo A and B;
- Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IV, also known as Maroteaux-Lamy; and
- Mucopolysaccharidosis Type VII, also known as Sly.
- Oligosaccharidoses:
- Mannosidosis;
- Alpha-fucosidosis;
- Galactosialidosis;
- Asparylglucosaminuria;
- Schindler; and
- Sialidosis;
- Mucolipidoses:
- Mucolipidoses Type II, also known as Inclusion Cell disease; and
- Mucolipidoses Type III, also known as pseudo-Hurler polydystrophy;
- Sphingolipidoses:
- Gaucher Type 2 and Type 3;
- Neimann Pick Type A and B;
- Neimann Pick Type C;
- Krabbe;
- GM1 gangliosidosis;
- GM2 gangliosidosis also known as Tay-sachs and Sandhoff Disease;
- Metachromatic leukodystrophy;
- Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis types 1-10 including Batten Disease; and
- Farber Disease; and
- Glycogen Storage-Lysosomal: Pompe Disease.
- Peroxisomal Disorders:
- X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy;
- Peroxisomal biosynthesis defects:
- Zellweger syndrome:
- Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy; and
- D Bidirectional enzyme deficiency.
- Leukodystrophy:
- Canavan disease;
- Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease;
- Alexander disease;
- Multiple Sulfatase deficiency;
- Polyol disorders;
- Glycine encephalopathy, also known as non-ketotic hyperglycinemia;
- Maple Syrup Urine Disease;
- Homocysteine re-methylation defects;
- Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency severe variant;
- L-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria;
- Glutaric acidemia type 1;
- 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA lyase deficiency;
- Galactosemia;
- Manosidosis alpha and beta;
- Salidosis;
- Peripheral neuropathy types 1 through 4;
- Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency;
- Pyruvate Carboxylase Deficiency;
- Refsum Disease; and
- Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Sub-cortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy.
- Fatty Acid Oxidation:
- Trifunctional protein deficiency; and
- Long-chain L-3 hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency.
- Metal Metabolism:
- Wilson Disease;
- Pantothenate Kinase Associated Neurodegeneration; and
- Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation.
- Purine and Pyrimidine Defects:
- Adenylosuccinate synthase Deficiency;
- 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide transformylase deficiency;
- Hypoxanthine-guanine phosophoribosyltransferase Deficiency also known as Lesch-Nyhan disease;
- Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase Deficiency; and
- Dihydropirimidinase Deficiency.
- Mucopolysaccaridosis:
- Mitochondrial Conditions:
Medical Marijuana Prescriptions
Patients may get Low-THC cannabis prescribed if:
- The patient is a permanent resident of Texas
- The patient has one of the medical conditions listed above
- A CUP registered physician prescribes
- That qualified physician decides the benefit outweighs the risk
There is no age limit for prescriptions. Patients under 18 may need a legal guardian.
Getting a prescription:
- The physician will enter a prescription in the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas (CURT)
- After, the patient or legal guardian can go to any licensed dispensary to get the prescription
- The patient or legal guardian will need to provide ID and the patient’s, last name, date of birth, and last five digits of their Social Security Number
A physician’s qualifications to prescribe low-THC are outlined in Section A169.002 of Senate Bill 339. A physician is qualified to prescribe low-THC cannabis to a patient with intractable epilepsy if the physician:
- is licensed under this subtitle;
- dedicates a significant portion of clinical practice to the evaluation and treatment of epilepsy; and
- is certified:
- by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in:
- epilepsy; or
- neurology or neurology with a special qualification in child neurology and is otherwise qualified for the examination for certification in epilepsy; or
- in neurophysiology by:
- the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; or
- the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology
- by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in:
A physician described by Section 169.002 may prescribe low-THC cannabis to alleviate a patient’s seizures if:
- the patient is a permanent resident of the state;
- the physician complies with the registration requirements of Section 169.004; and
- the physician certifies to the department that:
- the patient is diagnosed with intractable epilepsy;
- 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
- 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
Collin County Resources for Medical Marijuana
Texas Medical Marijuana ― On this state website, you can get an overview of the Texas medical marijuana laws that include definitions, an explanation of CURT, and a marijuana law guide. There is also information about the CUP that includes an overview, laws and regulations, and licensing and registration. You can also search CURT for a registered physician.
Texas cancer patients and people with PTSD will soon be able to join the state’s expanded medical marijuana program ― This is an August 11, 2021 article from the Texas Tribune that reported the Texas Compassionate Use Program would expand to include people with PTSD and cancer of all stages, allowing them to use “low-THC cannabis.” The state’s cannabis program served fewer than 6,000 people as of May, and the new law will expand to include veterans with PTSD like Bass and the estimated 114,000 Texans who have cancer, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The new Texas law will not only expand the state’s cannabis program but double the percent of THC allowed in products to 1 percent.
Find A Collin County Attorney for Medical Marijuana Charges | Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy
Contact the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy today for a consultation about medical marijuana in Collin County in Texas that could help you avoid a marijuana possession charge. Richard McConathy is an experienced criminal defense attorney who will make every effort to find applicable defenses in your particular case to have your charges reduced or even dismissed.
Contact the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy right now at (469) 304-3422 or contact us online for a free consultation about your marijuana arrest throughout Collin County in Texas and the surrounding counties of Denton County, Wise County, Kaufman County, Dallas County, Grayson County, Rockwall County, Johnson County, Ellis County, and Parker County. We will fight to make sure that you get the most favorable outcome for your criminal case.