Texas Cannabis Laws: Medical Marijuana, Hemp Regulations, and Legal History
Updated October 11, 2026.
Recreational marijuana remains illegal in Texas, while qualifying patients can obtain prescribed low-THC cannabis through the Texas Compassionate Use Program. Texas also regulates consumable hemp separately. A hemp retailer, a medical dispensing organization, and a recreational marijuana dispensary are not interchangeable legal categories.
The state has expanded medical access several times since 2015. Its most substantial recent reform, House Bill 46, took effect in September 2025. Meanwhile, hemp regulation changed significantly during 2025 and 2026 through legislation, agency rules, and court decisions.
Texas Cannabis Laws at a Glance
| Topic | Current Rule |
|---|---|
| Recreational marijuana | Illegal; no general adult-use possession allowance. |
| Medical cannabis | Available to qualifying permanent Texas residents through the Compassionate Use Program. |
| Medical THC standard | Generally no more than 10 milligrams of THC per dosage unit; prescribed pulmonary administration has specific provisions. |
| Prescription supply | A 90-day supply, based on prescribed dosage, with up to four 90-day refills. |
| Patient identification | Physician-entered CURT registry records; no state-issued patient card is required. |
| Home cultivation | Not allowed for recreational consumers or medical patients. |
| Smoking medical cannabis | Prohibited; medically necessary prescribed aerosol or vapor administration is separately authorized. |
| Out-of-state prescriptions | Cannot be filled through the Texas program. |
| Consumable hemp sales | Subject to separate product rules, business requirements, and age-21 restrictions. |
Sources: DPS patient guidance, Occupations Code Chapter 169, and DSHS hemp guidance.
History of Cannabis Laws in Texas
Before Medical Legalization: Criminal Prohibition
Texas historically regulated marijuana through criminal drug laws rather than a patient dispensary system. The Texas Controlled Substances Act remains the foundation for unauthorized marijuana possession and delivery offenses.
Later medical and hemp reforms created specific exceptions without eliminating the underlying marijuana prohibitions. The distinction continues to affect possession, product classification, and enforcement. See Health and Safety Code Chapter 481.
2015: The Compassionate Use Act
The Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 339 in 2015, creating the Texas Compassionate Use Act. The original program focused on low-THC cannabis for patients with intractable epilepsy.
The Department of Public Safety was responsible for administration, physician registration, dispensing organization licensing, and the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas, commonly called CURT. See the DPS program overview.
2017: Registry and Initial Business Licensing
CURT went live September 1, 2017. DPS also issued the first three dispensing organization licenses during 2017, establishing the initial licensed medical supply system.
These organizations could cultivate, process, and dispense program-compliant cannabis. Their licenses did not authorize recreational sales. See the DPS historical announcements.
2019: Medical Eligibility Expands
House Bill 3703 broadened medical eligibility beyond intractable epilepsy. It included all forms of epilepsy, seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, ALS, autism, terminal cancer, and designated incurable neurodegenerative diseases.
This changed who could receive medical cannabis while keeping access within the physician-directed program. See the legislature’s enrolled bill summary.
2019: Texas Authorizes Hemp
House Bill 1325 took effect June 10, 2019, creating a state framework for hemp production and consumable hemp products following the federal 2018 Farm Bill.
Texas distinguished qualifying hemp from marijuana using a THC-based definition and established licensing and regulatory requirements. Hemp legalization did not repeal marijuana offenses. Sources: the HB 1325 history and Department of Agriculture hemp program.
2021: PTSD, Cancer, and a Higher THC Percentage
House Bill 1535 took effect September 1, 2021. It added PTSD and expanded cancer eligibility beyond terminal cancer. It also increased the medical program’s THC ceiling from 0.5% to 1% by weight.
That percentage limit is now historical. Readers should not treat the 2021 standard as the current rule after the 2025 amendments. See the DPS legislation page and legislative analysis.
2025: House Bill 46 Broadens Medical Access
Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 46 on June 20, 2025. It took effect September 1, 2025, adding conditions including qualifying chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, inflammatory bowel disease, and terminal or hospice-related circumstances.
The law replaced the percentage-based medical THC definition with a dosage-unit standard. It also authorized medically necessary pulmonary aerosol or vapor administration, satellite dispensing locations, and expansion toward 15 dispensing organization licenses statewide.
Licensing authorization does not mean every new location opened immediately. DPS implemented the expansion through application and selection phases. Sources: the signed bill history and DPS expansion summary.
2025–2026: Hemp Restrictions Develop Separately
On June 22, 2025, Governor Abbott vetoed Senate Bill 3, which would have imposed broad restrictions on hemp-derived THC products. Its passage by lawmakers did not make it enacted law. See the governor’s veto statement.
Other restrictions followed. The State Law Library reports that 2026 rules impose age-21 restrictions and include THCA when calculating acceptable hemp THC levels. The total-THC rule has been litigated; the library reports that it remains effective while the challenge proceeds.
DSHS also states that scheduling affecting delta-8 THC took effect July 31, 2026, with only naturally occurring trace amounts in qualifying hemp exempt. These developments concern hemp products, not expansion of recreational marijuana rights. Sources: the State Law Library hemp guide and current DSHS notice.
Who Qualifies for Medical Cannabis?
Patients must be permanent Texas residents and obtain a prescription from a qualified physician registered with the program. The physician must determine that the potential benefit justifies the risk.
Current conditions include epilepsy, seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, ALS, autism, cancer, incurable neurodegenerative disease, PTSD, qualifying chronic pain, inflammatory bowel disease, traumatic brain injury, and qualifying terminal, hospice, or palliative-care circumstances.
Patients can be minors, although a guardian may be needed. See Chapter 169 for exact eligibility criteria.
Registration, Prescriptions, and Purchasing
Texas uses a physician-entered registry rather than a conventional state-issued medical marijuana card. DPS does not require patients to submit a separate registration application or pay a patient registration fee. Physician consultations and cannabis products can have their own costs.
The physician records the prescription in CURT. A licensed dispensing organization verifies the record and identification before providing the prescribed product. See the DPS patient FAQ.
A prescription may provide a 90-day supply based on the prescribed dosage and up to four refills. Texas does not give patients a universal flower-ounce allowance comparable to some other states. See the enacted HB 46 text.
THC Limits, Product Forms, and Home Growing
The current general low-THC definition permits no more than 10 milligrams of THC per dosage unit. Packages or containers may not exceed one gram of total THC; that is a packaging limit, not a blanket one-gram patient possession allowance.
Smoking remains outside authorized medical use. A physician may prescribe aerosol or vapor administration when medically necessary, subject to the relevant device and prescription rules. This does not authorize smoking flower or purchasing unregulated THC cartridges.
Patients cannot grow their own cannabis. Cultivation and production belong to licensed dispensing organizations. Sources: HB 46 and Chapter 487.
Unauthorized Marijuana Possession
Possession of two ounces or less of marijuana is generally a Class B misdemeanor, carrying up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both. More than two ounces through four ounces is generally a Class A misdemeanor.
Amounts above four ounces enter felony categories. THC concentrates and extracts can fall under different controlled-substance provisions, so flower possession thresholds should not be applied automatically to oils or cartridges.
These classifications describe state offenses. A local enforcement priority, citation policy, or diversion option does not create statewide legalization. Sources: Sections 481.116 and 481.121 and Penal Code penalties.
Visitors and Hemp Purchases
Texas does not allow an out-of-state medical prescription to be filled through its program. An out-of-state card does not create general Texas possession rights. Program eligibility requires permanent Texas residency and a prescription entered by a registered physician.
Hemp customers should verify current product compliance rather than relying on a “legal THC” label. Age restrictions, cannabinoid rules, testing requirements, and separate vape restrictions can apply. See the State Law Library’s current hemp guide.
Driving and Cannabis Use
Medical authorization does not excuse impaired driving. Texas defines intoxication to include loss of normal mental or physical faculties from drugs or a combination of substances, and prohibits operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated.
This applies regardless of whether a cannabis product was obtained lawfully. See Penal Code Sections 49.01 and 49.04.
Understanding Texas’s Current Cannabis Framework
Texas has expanded its medical program from a narrow epilepsy law to broader physician-directed access. Recreational marijuana remains prohibited, while hemp follows a separate and changing regulatory framework. The most useful distinctions are medical prescriptions versus retail hemp products, dosage-unit limits versus historical THC percentages, and local enforcement policies versus state legality.
This article provides general legal information, not individualized legal advice. Check the linked official sources for subsequent amendments, court orders, and agency guidance.