89R4873 LHC-F

By: Menéndez S.B. No. 733

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation of a medical cannabis research program; authorizing fees.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 6, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Chapter 446 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 446. MEDICAL CANNABIS RESEARCH PROGRAM

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 446.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the Medical Cannabis Research Act.

Sec. 446.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Advisory board" means the medical cannabis research advisory board established under this chapter.

(2) "License" means a medical cannabis research license issued by the department under Subchapter C.

(3) "License holder" means a person who holds a medical cannabis research license.

(4) "Medical 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. The term does not include hemp, as defined by Section 121.001, Agriculture Code, or a consumable hemp product, as defined by Section 443.001 of this code.

SUBCHAPTER B. MEDICAL CANNABIS RESEARCH ADVISORY BOARD

Sec. 446.051. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY BOARD. (a) A medical cannabis research advisory board is established to perform functions and duties under this chapter.

(b) The executive commissioner shall assist the advisory board as provided by this chapter.

Sec. 446.052. MEMBERSHIP. (a) The advisory board members are appointed by the governor and serve staggered six-year terms, with the terms of one-third of the members, or as near to one-third as possible, expiring on August 31 of each odd-numbered year.

(b) The advisory board shall be composed of the following 11 members:

(1) a licensed physician certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and certified in the subspecialty of medical oncology;

(2) a licensed physician certified by the American Board of Surgery;

(3) a licensed physician certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology;

(4) a licensed physician certified by the American Board of Family Medicine;

(5) a licensed physician certified in neurology with a special qualification in child neurology;

(6) a licensed physician specializing in pain management certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, or the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation;

(7) a licensed pharmacist;

(8) a licensed advanced practice registered nurse specializing in palliative care certified by the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center or a licensed physician specializing in palliative care certified by a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Osteopathic Association, or the Hospice Medical Director Certification Board;

(9) a representative from a Texas medical specialty organization;

(10) a licensed attorney with experience in law pertaining to the practice of medicine and cannabis regulation; and

(11) a person who represents medical cannabis patient interests.

(c) At least two members of the advisory board must be affiliated with an institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education involved in relevant research, such as a medical and dental unit, general academic teaching institution, or other agency of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.

(d) The governor shall select a presiding officer from the membership of the advisory board.

(e) The advisory board shall meet at least quarterly at the call of the presiding officer.

(f) The advisory board may create and appoint one or more advisory committees composed of patients, law enforcement officers, researchers, other medical professionals, and other persons who are knowledgeable about the medical use of cannabis.

(g) Members serve without compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in performing official duties.

Sec. 446.053. DUTIES OF ADVISORY BOARD; REPORT. (a) The advisory board shall assist the department in evaluating proposals submitted as part of a license application under Section 446.104.

(b) The advisory board shall conduct a continuing study of the laws relating to medical cannabis to facilitate statewide access to safe and effective medical cannabis.

(c) The advisory board shall prepare a report of the board's findings and recommendations under Subsection (b) and submit the report to the legislature not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year.

(d) Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the advisory board.

SUBCHAPTER C. MEDICAL CANNABIS RESEARCH LICENSE

Sec. 446.101. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE. The department shall issue a medical cannabis research license to a person that authorizes the person to possess, manufacture, cultivate, or dispense medical cannabis for the limited research purposes described by Section 446.102.

Sec. 446.102. PURPOSE OF LICENSE. A medical cannabis research license may be issued for the following limited research purposes:

(1) conducting objective scientific research into the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis or other public health outcomes related to medical cannabis;

(2) developing medical guidelines for the appropriate administration of medical cannabis to assist physicians and patients in evaluating the risks and benefits of medical cannabis and to provide a scientific basis for future policies;

(3) developing quality control, purity, and labeling standards for medical cannabis;

(4) developing best practices for the safe and efficient cultivation of medical cannabis;

(5) analyzing genetic and healing properties of different varieties of cannabis;

(6) conducting genomic, horticultural, or agricultural research; and

(7) conducting research on cannabis-affiliated products or systems.

Sec. 446.103. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE. (a) As part of the application process for a license, an applicant shall submit to the department and the advisory board a description of the research that the applicant intends to conduct. The department shall grant the license if:

(1) the department determines that the application meets the criteria for the issuance of a license described by Section 446.102 and Subchapter C, Chapter 487; and

(2) the advisory board recommends the application for approval under Section 446.104(b).

(b) The department may not grant a license if the advisory board does not recommend the application for approval.

Sec. 446.104. REVIEW BY ADVISORY BOARD. (a) The advisory board shall review each applicant's research project to assess the following:

(1) the quality, study design, value, and impact of the project;

(2) whether the research supports the purposes described by Section 446.102;

(3) whether the applicant has the appropriate personnel, expertise, facilities, infrastructure, funding, and approvals in place to successfully conduct the project; and

(4) whether the amount of cannabis to be grown by the applicant is consistent with the scope and goals of the project.

(b) If the advisory board determines that the research project meets the requirements of this subchapter and the applicant satisfies the criteria described by Subsection (a), the advisory board may recommend that a license be granted to the applicant for the project.

Sec. 446.105. CONTRACTS. A license holder may contract to perform research in conjunction with another license holder, a medical school, as defined by Section 61.501, Education Code, a hospital licensed under Chapter 241, or an institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education involved in relevant research, such as a general academic teaching institution, medical and dental unit, or other agency of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.

Sec. 446.106. TRANSFER OF CANNABIS TO OTHER LICENSE HOLDER. Unless otherwise authorized by the department, a license holder may only transfer, by sale or donation, cannabis grown or processed within the license holder's operation to another license holder or program participant as authorized by department rule.

Sec. 446.107. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. The growing, cultivating, possessing, or transferring, by sale or donation, of cannabis in accordance with this subchapter and the rules adopted under this subchapter, by a license holder may not be the basis of criminal or civil liability.

Sec. 446.108. FEES. The executive commissioner shall set license and renewal fees in an amount sufficient to administer this chapter.

Sec. 446.109. RULES. The executive commissioner shall, in consultation with the advisory board and the Public Safety Commission of the Department of Public Safety, adopt rules to implement this chapter, including:

(1) license application requirements;

(2) license renewal requirements, including the consideration or addition of additional research projects by a license holder;

(3) grounds for license revocation;

(4) security measures to ensure cannabis is not diverted to purposes other than research;

(5) license holder reporting requirements;

(6) conditions under which cannabis grown by licensed cannabis cultivators and other product types from licensed cannabis processors may be donated to license holders; and

(7) additional rules the executive commissioner considers necessary.

SECTION 2. 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 licensed under Subchapter C, Chapter 487 that possesses low-THC cannabis; or

(7) a medical cannabis research license holder under Chapter 446 that possesses medical cannabis.

SECTION 3. Section 551.004(a), Occupations Code, is amended 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 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 medical cannabis research license holder under Chapter 446, Health and Safety Code, that cultivates, possesses, researches, tests, and dispenses medical cannabis as authorized by the license.

SECTION 4. Not later than December 31, 2025, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall adopt rules as required to implement, administer, and enforce this Act.

SECTION 5. The governor shall appoint members to the medical cannabis research advisory board as required under Chapter 446, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable but not later than September 1, 2025.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.