AUSTIN, Texas — State Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) has filed a bill to expand medical marijuana access through the Texas Compassionate Use Program (CUP).

Jacob Ortiz’s health hasn’t always been an upward climb.

“His epilepsy was sporadic, it was unpredictable,” Jacob’s mom Kaleigh Koch said. “He has what’s considered complex partial seizures.” 

Koch said in 2020, doctors prescribed her son medical cannabis through CUP because his epileptic drug was no longer working.

“I’m not sure if I really remember it because it’s been like a really long time since I’ve had one,” said Ortiz.

“We’re almost 4.5 years seizure-free now because of starting the medical cannabis,” said Koch. 

Senate Bill 1505 aims to expand access to the program in many ways, including changing how it’s measured to allow access to other forms of medication. 

“We had a cap of 1% by weight THC,” said Nico Richardson, CEO of Texas Original. “[If the law passes] Now we’re changing this to something we call volumetric dosing, which just means we’re talking about the milligrams of active material.”

Instead of only selling edibles like gummies, the change would allow providers to supply items like inhalers, patches or capsules.

“This is really important for patients with episodic conditions where they feel something coming on immediately and want immediate relief,” said Richardson. 

“[It’s] so much simpler for somebody who’s approaching their teen years right and doesn’t necessarily wanna bring a tincture along for whatever,” said Koch. 

The bill would also allow licensed dispensaries to operate satellite storage facilities to make it easier for patients to access prescriptions.

Richardson said they currently have to store the medication at one facility and use drivers to drop it off across Texas. 

“It’s very costly and it can lead to some pretty extensive wait times for patients to get their medicine,” said Richardson. “This should make medicine both cheaper and more accessible to patients across the state.” 

Richardson said the lack of access has kept the program from growing over the last couple of years. 

The bill calls for adding six more licensed dispensaries in Texas. Right now, there are only three. 

“Hopefully it reaches somebody who might be questioning what the options are,” said Koch.

Senate lawmakers heard testimony on Monday, but so far no action has been taken on the bill.