Bill Text: TX HB2107 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to authorizing the possession, use, cultivation, distribution, transportation, and delivery of medical cannabis for medical use by patients with certain debilitating medical conditions and the licensing of dispensing organizations and cannabis testing facilities; authorizing fees.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-09 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB2107 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB2107-Comm_Sub.html

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85R22838 JSC-F
By: Lucio III, Isaac, White, Simmons, H.B. No. 2107
Sheffield, et al.
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2107:
By: Cortez C.S.H.B. No. 2107

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to authorizing the possession, use, cultivation,
distribution, transportation, and delivery of medical cannabis for
medical use by patients with certain debilitating medical
conditions and the licensing of dispensing organizations and
cannabis testing facilities; authorizing fees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 481.062(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The following persons may possess a controlled
substance under this chapter without registering with the Federal
Drug Enforcement Administration:
(1) an agent or employee of a manufacturer,
distributor, analyzer, or dispenser of the controlled substance who
is registered with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration and
acting in the usual course of business or employment;
(2) a common or contract carrier, a warehouseman, or
an employee of a carrier or warehouseman whose possession of the
controlled substance is in the usual course of business or
employment;
(3) an ultimate user or a person in possession of the
controlled substance under a lawful order of a practitioner or in
lawful possession of the controlled substance if it is listed in
Schedule V;
(4) an officer or employee of this state, another
state, a political subdivision of this state or another state, or
the United States who is lawfully engaged in the enforcement of a
law relating to a controlled substance or drug or to a customs law
and authorized to possess the controlled substance in the discharge
of the person's official duties;
(5) if the substance is tetrahydrocannabinol or one of
its derivatives:
(A) a Department of State Health Services
official, a medical school researcher, or a research program
participant possessing the substance as authorized under
Subchapter G; or
(B) a practitioner or an ultimate user possessing
the substance as a participant in a federally approved therapeutic
research program that the commissioner has reviewed and found, in
writing, to contain a medically responsible research protocol; or
(6) a dispensing organization or cannabis testing
facility licensed under Subchapter C, Chapter 487, that possesses
medical [low-THC] cannabis.
SECTION 2. Sections 481.111(e) and (f), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(e) Sections 481.120, 481.121, 481.122, and 481.125 do not
apply to a person who engages in the acquisition, possession,
production, cultivation, delivery, or disposal of a raw material
used in or by-product created by the production or cultivation of
medical [low-THC] cannabis if the person:
(1) for an offense involving possession only of
marihuana or drug paraphernalia, is a patient for whom medical use
[low-THC cannabis] is recommended [prescribed] under Chapter 169,
Occupations Code, [or the patient's legal guardian,] and the person
possesses no more than the allowable amount of medical [low-THC]
cannabis, as determined under Section 487.002 [obtained under a
valid prescription from a dispensing organization]; or
(2) is a director, manager, or employee of a
dispensing organization or cannabis testing facility and the
person, solely in performing the person's regular duties at the
organization or facility, acquires, possesses, produces,
cultivates, dispenses, or disposes of:
(A) in reasonable quantities, any medical
[low-THC] cannabis or raw materials used in or by-products created
by the production or cultivation of medical [low-THC] cannabis; or
(B) any drug paraphernalia used in the
acquisition, possession, production, cultivation, delivery, or
disposal of medical [low-THC] cannabis.
(f) For purposes of Subsection (e):
(1) "Cannabis testing facility" and "dispensing
organization" have the meanings ["Dispensing organization" has the
meaning] assigned by Section 487.001.
(2) "Medical cannabis" and "medical use" have the
meanings ["Low-THC cannabis" has the meaning] assigned by Section
169.001, Occupations Code.
SECTION 3. Section 487.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 487.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Cannabis testing facility" means an independent
entity licensed by the department under this chapter to analyze the
safety and potency of medical cannabis.
(2) "Debilitating medical condition," "medical
cannabis," and "medical use" have the meanings assigned by Section
169.001, Occupations Code.
(3) "Department" means the Department of Public
Safety.
(4) [(2)] "Director" means the public safety director
of the department.
(5) [(3)] "Dispensing organization" means an
organization licensed by the department to cultivate, process, and
dispense medical [low-THC] cannabis to a patient for whom medical
use [low-THC cannabis] is recommended [prescribed] under Chapter
169, Occupations Code.
[(4) "Low-THC cannabis" has the meaning assigned by
Section 169.001, Occupations Code.]
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 487, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 487.002 to read as follows:
Sec. 487.002. ALLOWABLE AMOUNT OF MEDICAL CANNABIS. (a)
The allowable amount of medical cannabis for a person for whom
medical use is recommended under Chapter 169, Occupations Code, is:
(1) not more than 2.5 ounces of medical cannabis;
(2) if applicable, a greater amount specified in
accordance with department rules by a recommending physician under
Chapter 169, Occupations Code, and included with the patient's
registration on the compassionate-use registry established under
Section 487.054; or
(3) an amount of oils or products infused with medical
cannabis such that the quantity of tetrahydrocannabinols and
cannabidiol in the oil or product does not exceed the quantity of
those substances contained in the amount of medical cannabis under
Subdivision (1) or (2), as applicable.
(b) Oils and products infused with medical cannabis must be
labeled in accordance with department rules to indicate the
quantity of tetrahydrocannabinols and cannabidiol contained in the
oil or product for purposes of determining compliance with this
section.
SECTION 5. Section 487.052, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 487.052. RULES. (a) The director shall adopt any
rules necessary for the administration and enforcement of this
chapter.
(b) The director shall adopt [, including] rules imposing
fees under this chapter in amounts sufficient to cover the cost of
administering this chapter.
(c) The director shall adopt rules in accordance with
Section 487.002 governing the allowable amount of medical cannabis
a physician may recommend for a patient for whom medical use is
recommended under Chapter 169, Occupations Code.
(d) The director by rule shall adopt labeling requirements
for medical cannabis. In adopting labeling requirements, the
director shall ensure each oil and product infused with medical
cannabis is labeled with the quantity of tetrahydrocannabinols and
cannabidiol contained in the oil or product.
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 487.053, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 487.053. LICENSING OF DISPENSING ORGANIZATIONS AND
CANNABIS TESTING FACILITIES; REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN ASSOCIATED
INDIVIDUALS.
SECTION 7. Section 487.053(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall:
(1) issue or renew a license under Subchapter C to
operate as:
(A) a dispensing organization to each applicant
who satisfies the requirements established under this chapter for
licensure as a dispensing organization; and
(B) a cannabis testing facility to each applicant
who satisfies the requirements established under this chapter for
licensure as a cannabis testing facility; and
(2) register directors, managers, and employees under
Subchapter D of each:
(A) dispensing organization; and
(B) cannabis testing facility.
SECTION 8. Section 487.054, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 487.054. COMPASSIONATE-USE REGISTRY. (a) The
department shall establish and maintain a secure online
compassionate-use registry that contains:
(1) the name of each physician who registers as the
physician recommending medical use [prescriber] for a patient under
Section 169.004, Occupations Code, and the name and date of birth of
the patient[, the dosage prescribed, the means of administration
ordered, and the total amount of low-THC cannabis required to fill
the patient's prescription]; and
(2) if applicable, the allowable amount of cannabis
specified by a recommending physician for the patient under Chapter
169, Occupations Code [a record of each amount of low-THC cannabis
dispensed by a dispensing organization to a patient under a
prescription].
(b) The department shall ensure the registry:
(1) is designed to prevent more than one [qualified]
physician from registering as the physician recommending medical
use [prescriber] for a single patient;
(2) is accessible to law enforcement agencies and
dispensing organizations for the purpose of verifying whether a
patient is one for whom medical use is recommended under Chapter
169, Occupations Code [low-THC cannabis is prescribed and whether
the patient's prescriptions have been filled]; and
(3) allows a physician recommending medical use
[qualified to prescribe low-THC cannabis] under Chapter 169
[Section 169.002], Occupations Code, to input safety and efficacy
data derived from the treatment of patients for whom medical use
[low-THC cannabis] is recommended [prescribed under Chapter 169,
Occupations Code].
SECTION 9. The heading to Subchapter C, Chapter 487, Health
and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. LICENSING OF [LICENSE TO OPERATE AS] DISPENSING
ORGANIZATIONS AND CANNABIS TESTING FACILITIES [ORGANIZATION]
SECTION 10. Section 487.101, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 487.101. LICENSE REQUIRED. A person may not operate as
a dispensing organization or a cannabis testing facility without
the appropriate license issued by the department under this
subchapter [chapter is required to operate a dispensing
organization].
SECTION 11. Section 487.102, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 487.102. ELIGIBILITY FOR LICENSE TO OPERATE AS
DISPENSING ORGANIZATION. An applicant for a license to operate as a
dispensing organization is eligible for the license if:
(1) as determined by the department, the applicant
possesses:
(A) the technical and technological ability to
cultivate and produce medical [low-THC] cannabis;
(B) the ability to secure:
(i) the resources and personnel necessary
to operate as a dispensing organization; and
(ii) premises reasonably located to allow
patients listed on the compassionate-use registry access to the
organization through existing infrastructure;
(C) the ability to maintain accountability for
the raw materials, the finished product, and any by-products used
or produced in the cultivation or production of medical [low-THC]
cannabis to prevent unlawful access to or unlawful diversion or
possession of those materials, products, or by-products; and
(D) the financial ability to maintain operations
for not less than two years from the date of application;
(2) each director, manager, or employee of the
applicant is registered under Subchapter D; and
(3) the applicant satisfies any additional criteria
determined by the director to be necessary to safely implement this
chapter.
SECTION 12. Subchapter C, Chapter 487, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 487.1021 to read as follows:
Sec. 487.1021. ELIGIBILITY FOR LICENSE TO OPERATE AS
CANNABIS TESTING FACILITY. An applicant for a license to operate as
a cannabis testing facility is eligible for the license if:
(1) as determined by the department, the applicant
possesses:
(A) the ability to secure the resources and
personnel necessary to operate as a cannabis testing facility; and
(B) the financial ability to maintain operations
for not less than two years from the date of application;
(2) each director, manager, or employee of the
applicant is registered under Subchapter D; and
(3) the applicant satisfies any additional criteria
determined by the director to be necessary for the operation of a
cannabis testing facility.
SECTION 13. Section 487.103(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person may apply for an initial or renewal license
under this subchapter [to operate as a dispensing organization] by
submitting a form prescribed by the department along with the
application fee in an amount set by the director.
SECTION 14. Section 487.104(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall issue or renew a license under this
subchapter [to operate as a dispensing organization] only if:
(1) the department determines the applicant meets the
eligibility requirements described by Section 487.102 or 487.1021,
as applicable; and
(2) issuance or renewal of the license is necessary to
ensure reasonable statewide access to, and the availability of,
medical [low-THC] cannabis for patients registered in the
compassionate-use registry and for whom medical [low-THC] cannabis
is recommended [prescribed] under Chapter 169, Occupations Code.
SECTION 15. Sections 487.105(a) and (b), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) An applicant for the issuance or renewal of a license
under this subchapter [to operate as a dispensing organization]
shall provide the department with the applicant's name and the name
of each of the applicant's directors, managers, and employees.
(b) Before a license holder under this subchapter
[dispensing organization licensee] hires a manager or employee for
the organization or facility, the license holder [licensee] must
provide the department with the name of the prospective manager or
employee. The license holder [licensee] may not transfer the
license to another person before that prospective applicant and the
applicant's directors, managers, and employees pass a criminal
history background check and are registered as required by
Subchapter D.
SECTION 16. Sections 487.106 and 487.107, Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 487.106. DUTY TO MAINTAIN ELIGIBILITY. Each license
holder under this subchapter [A dispensing organization] must
maintain compliance at all times with the eligibility requirements
described by Section 487.102 or 487.1021, as applicable.
Sec. 487.107. DUTIES RELATING TO DISPENSING MEDICAL
CANNABIS [PRESCRIPTION]. (a) Before dispensing medical [low-THC]
cannabis to a person for whom medical use is recommended [the
low-THC cannabis is prescribed] under Chapter 169, Occupations
Code, the dispensing organization must verify that the
[prescription presented:
[(1) is for a] person is listed as a patient in the
compassionate-use registry[;
[(2) matches the entry in the compassionate-use
registry with respect to the total amount of low-THC cannabis
required to fill the prescription; and
[(3) has not previously been filled by a dispensing
organization as indicated by an entry in the compassionate-use
registry].
(b) After dispensing medical [low-THC] cannabis to a
patient for whom medical use is recommended [the low-THC cannabis
is prescribed] under Chapter 169, Occupations Code, the dispensing
organization shall record in the compassionate-use registry the
form and quantity of the medical [low-THC] cannabis dispensed and
the date and time of dispensation.
SECTION 17. Sections 487.108(a), (b), and (c), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The department may at any time suspend or revoke a
license issued under this subchapter [chapter] if the department
determines that the license holder [licensee] has not maintained
the eligibility requirements described by Section 487.102 or
487.1021, as applicable, or has failed to comply with a duty imposed
under this chapter.
(b) The director shall give written notice to the license
holder [dispensing organization] of a license suspension or
revocation under this section and the grounds for the suspension or
revocation. The notice must be sent by certified mail, return
receipt requested.
(c) After suspending or revoking a license issued under this
subchapter [chapter], the director may seize or place under seal
all medical [low-THC] cannabis and drug paraphernalia owned or
possessed by the dispensing organization or cannabis testing
facility. If the director orders the revocation of the license, a
disposition may not be made of the seized or sealed medical
[low-THC] cannabis or drug paraphernalia until the time for
administrative appeal of the order has elapsed or until all appeals
have been concluded. When a revocation order becomes final, all
medical [low-THC] cannabis and drug paraphernalia may be forfeited
to the state as provided under Subchapter E, Chapter 481.
SECTION 18. Section 487.151, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) An individual who is a director, manager, or employee
of a cannabis testing facility must apply for and obtain a
registration under this section.
SECTION 19. Section 487.201, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 487.201. COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES MAY NOT PROHIBIT
MEDICAL [LOW-THC] CANNABIS. A municipality, county, or other
political subdivision may not enact, adopt, or enforce a rule,
ordinance, order, resolution, or other regulation that prohibits
the cultivation, production, dispensing, testing, or possession of
medical [low-THC] cannabis, as authorized by this chapter.
SECTION 20. Chapter 169, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
CHAPTER 169. AUTHORITY TO RECOMMEND MEDICAL USE OF [PRESCRIBE
LOW-THC] CANNABIS TO CERTAIN PATIENTS FOR COMPASSIONATE USE
Sec. 169.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Debilitating medical condition" means:
(A) cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human
immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative
colitis, agitation of Alzheimer's disease, post-traumatic stress
disorder, autism, sickle cell anemia, Parkinson's disease,
muscular dystrophy, or Huntington's disease;
(B) a chronic medical condition that produces, or
the treatment of a chronic medical condition that produces:
(i) cachexia or wasting syndrome;
(ii) severe debilitating pain;
(iii) severe nausea;
(iv) seizures, including those
characteristic of epilepsy; or
(v) severe and persistent muscle spasms,
including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis; or
(C) any other medical condition approved as a
debilitating medical condition by department rule or any symptom
caused by the treatment of a medical condition that is approved as a
debilitating medical condition by department rule.
(2) "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) "Medical ["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 recommended [prescribed]
amount of medical [low-THC] cannabis by a person for whom medical
use [low-THC cannabis] is recommended [prescribed] under this
chapter.
(5) "Smoking" means burning or igniting a substance
and inhaling the smoke.
Sec. 169.002. RECOMMENDATION OF MEDICAL USE [PHYSICIAN
QUALIFIED TO PRESCRIBE LOW-THC CANNABIS]. (a) A [Only a] physician
[qualified as provided by this section] may recommend medical use
[prescribe low-THC cannabis] in accordance with this chapter for a
patient with a debilitating medical condition.
(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.
[Sec. 169.003. PRESCRIPTION OF LOW-THC CANNABIS.] A
physician who recommends medical use for a patient must [described
by Section 169.002 may prescribe low-THC cannabis to alleviate a
patient's seizures if]:
(1) comply [the patient is a permanent resident of the
state;
[(2) the physician complies] with the registration
requirements of Section 169.004; and
(2) certify [(3) the physician certifies] to the
department that:
(A) the patient is diagnosed with a debilitating
medical condition [intractable epilepsy]; and
(B) the physician has determined that
[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].
Sec. 169.004. RECOMMENDING PHYSICIAN [LOW-THC CANNABIS
PRESCRIBER] REGISTRATION. Before a physician [qualified to
prescribe low-THC cannabis under Section 169.002] may recommend
medical use [prescribe or renew a prescription for low-THC
cannabis] for a patient under this chapter, the physician must
register as the recommending physician [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; and
(3) the allowable [dosage prescribed to the patient;
[(4) the means of administration ordered for the
patient; and
[(5) the total] amount of medical [low-THC] cannabis
recommended for the patient, if the physician recommends an
allowable amount greater than the amount provided by Section
487.002(a)(1), Health and Safety Code [required to fill the
patient's prescription].
Sec. 169.005. PATIENT TREATMENT PLAN. A physician
[described by Section 169.002] who recommends medical use
[prescribes low-THC cannabis] for a patient [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
(2) [(3)] a plan for monitoring indicators of
tolerance or reaction to medical [low-THC] cannabis.
SECTION 21. Section 551.004, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) This subtitle does not apply to:
(1) a practitioner licensed by the appropriate state
board who supplies a patient of the practitioner with a drug in a
manner authorized by state or federal law and who does not operate a
pharmacy for the retailing of prescription drugs;
(2) a member of the faculty of a college of pharmacy
recognized by the board who is a pharmacist and who performs the
pharmacist's services only for the benefit of the college;
(3) a person who procures prescription drugs for
lawful research, teaching, or testing and not for resale;
(4) a home and community support services agency that
possesses a dangerous drug as authorized by Section 142.0061,
142.0062, or 142.0063, Health and Safety Code; [or]
(5) a dispensing organization[, as defined by Section
487.001, Health and Safety Code,] that cultivates, processes, and
dispenses medical [low-THC] cannabis, as authorized by a license
issued under Subchapter (C), Chapter 487, Health and Safety Code,
to a patient listed in the compassionate-use registry established
under that chapter; or
(6) a cannabis testing facility that analyzes the
safety and potency of medical cannabis, as authorized by a license
issued under Subchapter C, Chapter 487, Health and Safety Code.
(a-1) For purposes of Subsections (a)(5) and (b), "cannabis
testing facility" and "dispensing organization" have the meanings
assigned by Section 487.001, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 22. Not later than October 1, 2017, the public
safety director of the Department of Public Safety shall adopt
rules as required to implement, administer, and enforce Chapter
487, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 23. (a) A license to operate as a dispensing
organization issued under Chapter 487, Health and Safety Code,
before the effective date of this Act continues to be valid after
the effective date of this Act until that license expires.
(b) The registration of a director, manager, or employee of
a dispensing organization under Subchapter D, Chapter 487, Health
and Safety Code, continues to be valid after the effective date of
this Act until that registration expires.
(c) Not later than March 1, 2018, the Department of Public
Safety shall begin licensing cannabis testing facilities in
accordance with Subchapter C, Chapter 487, Health and Safety Code,
as amended by this Act, provided that the applicants for a license
have met all requirements for approval under that subchapter.
SECTION 24. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2017.