Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3137 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Larson H.B. No. 3137
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to a medical cannabis research program.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 481.062(a), Health and Safety Code, is
9	9	amended to read as follows:
10	10	(a) The following persons may possess a controlled
11	11	substance under this chapter without registering with the Federal
12	12	Drug Enforcement Administration:
13	13	(1) an agent or employee of a manufacturer,
14	14	distributor, analyzer, or dispenser of the controlled substance who
15	15	is registered with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration and
16	16	acting in the usual course of business or employment;
17	17	(2) a common or contract carrier, a warehouseman, or
18	18	an employee of a carrier or warehouseman whose possession of the
19	19	controlled substance is in the usual course of business or
20	20	employment;
21	21	(3) an ultimate user or a person in possession of the
22	22	controlled substance under a lawful order of a practitioner or in
23	23	lawful possession of the controlled substance if it is listed in
24	24	Schedule V;
25	25	(4) an officer or employee of this state, another
26	26	state, a political subdivision of this state or another state, or
27	27	the United States who is lawfully engaged in the enforcement of a
28	28	law relating to a controlled substance or drug or to a customs law
29	29	and authorized to possess the controlled substance in the discharge
30	30	of the person's official duties;
31	31	(5) if the substance is tetrahydrocannabinol or one of
32	32	its derivatives:
33	33	(A) a Department of State Health Services
34	34	official, a medical school researcher, or a research program
35	35	participant possessing the substance as authorized under
36	36	Subchapter G or G-1, including all persons permitted or otherwise
37	37	authorized to possess cannabis under Subchapter G-1; or
38	38	(B) a practitioner or an ultimate user possessing
39	39	the substance as a participant in a federally approved therapeutic
40	40	research program that the commissioner has reviewed and found, in
41	41	writing, to contain a medically responsible research protocol; or
42	42	(6) a dispensing organization licensed under Chapter
43	43	487 that possesses low-THC cannabis.
44	44	SECTION 2. Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, is amended
45	45	by adding Subchapter G-1 to read as follows:
46	46	SUBCHAPTER G-1. MEDICAL CANNABIS RESEARCH PROGRAM
47	47	Sec. 481.251. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "commission"
48	48	means the Health and Human Services Commission.
49	49	Sec. 481.252. MEDICAL CANNABIS RESEARCH PROGRAM. (a) Not
50	50	later than January 31, 2022, the executive commissioner by rule
51	51	shall establish a medical cannabis research program to be conducted
52	52	by health-related institutions of higher education in this state.
53	53	(b) In adopting rules under this section, the executive
54	54	commissioner may provide:
55	55	(1) procedures for a health-related institution of
56	56	higher education in this state to apply to the commission for a
57	57	permit to conduct medical cannabis research under the program
58	58	established by this subchapter; and
59	59	(2) criteria for granting a permit to a health-related
60	60	institution of higher education to conduct medical cannabis
61	61	research.
62	62	Sec. 481.253. INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD. (a) Before
63	63	applying for a permit under this subchapter, a health-related
64	64	institution of higher education shall establish an institutional
65	65	review board to review or approve the initiation of and conduct
66	66	periodic review of research programs to ensure the legal protection
67	67	of the rights and welfare of human research subjects.
68	68	(b) The institution may designate an existing board,
69	69	committee, or other group as the institutional review board
70	70	required under this section.
71	71	Sec. 481.254. COMPASSIONATE-USE RESEARCH. (a) A
72	72	health-related institution of higher education may apply for a
73	73	permit to research:
74	74	(1) the efficacy of medical cannabis product
75	75	formulations and product forms;
76	76	(2) medical conditions that might benefit from
77	77	treatment with medical cannabis and are approved by the
78	78	health-related institution's institutional review board, including
79	79	those not listed in Section 169.003, Occupations Code; and
80	80	(3) any other research matter approved by the
81	81	institution's institutional review board.
82	82	(b) In applying for a permit, the health-related
83	83	institution of higher education shall disclose any private sector
84	84	organization contractors under Section 481.255 and shall disclose
85	85	additional contractors as additional contractors are formed.
86	86	Sec. 481.255. CONTRACTORS. (a) A health-related
87	87	institution of higher education granted a permit under this
88	88	subchapter shall be authorized to contract with one or more private
89	89	sector organizations to fulfill the terms of the permit, including
90	90	contracting for the production and distribution of medical
91	91	cannabis.
92	92	(b) A private sector organization is eligible to contract
93	93	with a health-related institution of higher education under this
94	94	subchapter if the organization:
95	95	(1) meets all requirements for a dispensing
96	96	organization under Chapter 487, except that the participant is not
97	97	required to pay a licensing or application fee;
98	98	(2) demonstrates capability to provide funding to
99	99	support medical cannabis research activities at a health-related
100	100	institution of higher education;
101	101	(3) demonstrates capability to establish and operate a
102	102	production and distribution system sufficient to support research
103	103	program needs; and
104	104	(4) is not a dispensing organization licensed under
105	105	Chapter 487, owned or controlled by any direct or indirect owner of
106	106	a licensed dispensing organization, or otherwise affiliated with a
107	107	licensed dispensing organization.
108	108	(c) The commission shall approve contractors between
109	109	health-related institutions of higher education and private sector
110	110	organizations authorized under this subchapter.
111	111	Sec. 481.256. PATIENT TREATMENT. (a) Patient treatment
112	112	provided as part of an approved research program under this
113	113	subchapter may be administered only by a medical practitioner
114	114	meeting standards approved by the institution's institutional
115	115	review board.
116	116	(b) A patient participating in a research program under this
117	117	subchapter must be a permanent resident of this state.
118	118	Sec. 481.257. INFORMED CONSENT. (a) Before receiving
119	119	treatment under an approved research program, each patient must
120	120	sign a written informed consent form.
121	121	(b) If a patient is a minor or lacks the mental capacity to
122	122	provide informed consent, a parent, guardian, or conservator may
123	123	provide informed consent on the patient's behalf.
124	124	(c) The executive commissioner shall adopt a form to be used
125	125	for the informed consent required by this section.
126	126	Sec. 481.258. LICENSURE AS DISPENSING ORGANIZATION. A
127	127	private sector organization contracting with a health-related
128	128	institution of higher education under this subchapter shall be
129	129	eligible for licensure as a dispensing organization under Chapter
130	130	487, or any other law that authorizes cultivating, processing, and
131	131	dispensing cannabis, on or after the second anniversary of the date
132	132	the organization entered into a contract with a health-related
133	133	institution of higher education related to a research program
134	134	authorized under this subchapter, provided that the organization's
135	135	operations comply with applicable state law.
136	136	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.