{"title":"烟雾与镜子:德克萨斯州同情使用大麻的障碍","authors":"Cielo Fortin-Camacho","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2893809","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Last year’s presidential campaign marked one of the most dramatic and unpredictable presidential elections in recent decades. As each party’s campaign became a topic of discussion for families across the country, so did marijuana, with the election marking the first presidential campaign where mainstream candidates openly endorsed ending federal marijuana prohibition. As party candidates battled it out election night — November 8, 2016 — the biggest winner seemed to be marijuana. Nine states voted on marijuana-related measures that night — four related to medical marijuana and five calling for recreational use — eight of them passed. Today, over half of the country has comprehensive medical marijuana laws and one fifth of Americans live somewhere where adults twenty-one and older can legally consume recreational marijuana. The 84th Legislative Session was historic in the movement to regulate marijuana in Texas, with five bills proposed to reduce penalties for possession of marijuana and four additional bills proposed to provide legal access to medical marijuana. Only one bill was signed into law, however, and advocates worry the program may soon prove ineffective. For now, Texans remain among the minority as the largest of nineteen states without legal access to marijuana. In June of 2015, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbot signed into law the Texas Compassionate-Use Act, allowing for the prescription of low-THC marijuana (“CBD”) to patients with intractable epilepsy. Before signing the bill, Abbot emphasized it would not open the door for broader marijuana legalization, but would “provide healing and hope for children that are afflicted by unrelenting seizures.” Critics, however, warned the bill was “unworkable” as enacted, pointing predominantly to its requirement that doctor’s ‘prescribe’ the CBD treatment its patients, which is federally illegal and unlikely to entice physicians to participate in the program. Since then, administrative rules and proposed amendments to the rules have further complicated the law’s potential. This article identifies the law’s shortcomings and ultimately suggest for Texas legislators reconvene to amend the law’s wording and for rule-makers to revert back to the rules proposed in December of 2015. Part I of this article describes the law’s history and legislative intent. Part II briefly describes the law’s basic structure and purpose. Part III discusses the financial barriers to the laws effectiveness, focusing on unreasonable security standards, market potential, and the burden of passing cost down to critically ill patients. Part IV discusses the criminal barriers to the Act’s effectiveness, focusing on the administrative seed sourcing requirements, the prescription requirement, and the law’s registry program.","PeriodicalId":230649,"journal":{"name":"Health Care Law & Policy eJournal","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2016-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Smoke and Mirrors: Barriers to Compassionate-Use of Marijuana in Texas\",\"authors\":\"Cielo Fortin-Camacho\",\"doi\":\"10.2139/SSRN.2893809\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"Last year’s presidential campaign marked one of the most dramatic and unpredictable presidential elections in recent decades. As each party’s campaign became a topic of discussion for families across the country, so did marijuana, with the election marking the first presidential campaign where mainstream candidates openly endorsed ending federal marijuana prohibition. As party candidates battled it out election night — November 8, 2016 — the biggest winner seemed to be marijuana. Nine states voted on marijuana-related measures that night — four related to medical marijuana and five calling for recreational use — eight of them passed. Today, over half of the country has comprehensive medical marijuana laws and one fifth of Americans live somewhere where adults twenty-one and older can legally consume recreational marijuana. The 84th Legislative Session was historic in the movement to regulate marijuana in Texas, with five bills proposed to reduce penalties for possession of marijuana and four additional bills proposed to provide legal access to medical marijuana. Only one bill was signed into law, however, and advocates worry the program may soon prove ineffective. For now, Texans remain among the minority as the largest of nineteen states without legal access to marijuana. In June of 2015, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbot signed into law the Texas Compassionate-Use Act, allowing for the prescription of low-THC marijuana (“CBD”) to patients with intractable epilepsy. Before signing the bill, Abbot emphasized it would not open the door for broader marijuana legalization, but would “provide healing and hope for children that are afflicted by unrelenting seizures.” Critics, however, warned the bill was “unworkable” as enacted, pointing predominantly to its requirement that doctor’s ‘prescribe’ the CBD treatment its patients, which is federally illegal and unlikely to entice physicians to participate in the program. Since then, administrative rules and proposed amendments to the rules have further complicated the law’s potential. This article identifies the law’s shortcomings and ultimately suggest for Texas legislators reconvene to amend the law’s wording and for rule-makers to revert back to the rules proposed in December of 2015. Part I of this article describes the law’s history and legislative intent. Part II briefly describes the law’s basic structure and purpose. Part III discusses the financial barriers to the laws effectiveness, focusing on unreasonable security standards, market potential, and the burden of passing cost down to critically ill patients. 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Smoke and Mirrors: Barriers to Compassionate-Use of Marijuana in Texas
Last year’s presidential campaign marked one of the most dramatic and unpredictable presidential elections in recent decades. As each party’s campaign became a topic of discussion for families across the country, so did marijuana, with the election marking the first presidential campaign where mainstream candidates openly endorsed ending federal marijuana prohibition. As party candidates battled it out election night — November 8, 2016 — the biggest winner seemed to be marijuana. Nine states voted on marijuana-related measures that night — four related to medical marijuana and five calling for recreational use — eight of them passed. Today, over half of the country has comprehensive medical marijuana laws and one fifth of Americans live somewhere where adults twenty-one and older can legally consume recreational marijuana. The 84th Legislative Session was historic in the movement to regulate marijuana in Texas, with five bills proposed to reduce penalties for possession of marijuana and four additional bills proposed to provide legal access to medical marijuana. Only one bill was signed into law, however, and advocates worry the program may soon prove ineffective. For now, Texans remain among the minority as the largest of nineteen states without legal access to marijuana. In June of 2015, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbot signed into law the Texas Compassionate-Use Act, allowing for the prescription of low-THC marijuana (“CBD”) to patients with intractable epilepsy. Before signing the bill, Abbot emphasized it would not open the door for broader marijuana legalization, but would “provide healing and hope for children that are afflicted by unrelenting seizures.” Critics, however, warned the bill was “unworkable” as enacted, pointing predominantly to its requirement that doctor’s ‘prescribe’ the CBD treatment its patients, which is federally illegal and unlikely to entice physicians to participate in the program. Since then, administrative rules and proposed amendments to the rules have further complicated the law’s potential. This article identifies the law’s shortcomings and ultimately suggest for Texas legislators reconvene to amend the law’s wording and for rule-makers to revert back to the rules proposed in December of 2015. Part I of this article describes the law’s history and legislative intent. Part II briefly describes the law’s basic structure and purpose. Part III discusses the financial barriers to the laws effectiveness, focusing on unreasonable security standards, market potential, and the burden of passing cost down to critically ill patients. Part IV discusses the criminal barriers to the Act’s effectiveness, focusing on the administrative seed sourcing requirements, the prescription requirement, and the law’s registry program.