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79R3916 JD-F

By:  Naishtat                                                     H.B. No. 658



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the medical use of marihuana.                                     
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 481.121, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended by adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
	(c)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under 
Subsection (a) that the person possessed the marihuana as a patient 
of a practitioner licensed to practice medicine in this state 
pursuant to the recommendation of that practitioner for the 
amelioration of the symptoms or effects of a bona fide medical 
condition.
	(d)  An agency, including a law enforcement agency, of this 
state or a political subdivision of this state may not initiate an 
administrative, civil, or criminal investigation into a 
practitioner licensed to practice medicine in this state on the 
ground that the practitioner discussed marihuana as a treatment 
option with a patient of the practitioner.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies 
only to an offense committed on or after September 1, 2005.
	(b)  An offense committed before September 1, 2005, is 
covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the 
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of 
this section, an offense was committed before September 1, 2005, if 
any element of the offense was committed before that date.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.