Weed Deed

'Flawed' marijuana bill goes from Texas House approval to governor's desk

A flawed bill permitting medical use of marijuana is just a Greg Abbott John Hancock away.

Courtesy photo

Texas is just a Greg Abbott signature away from approving a medical marijuana bill that will be hard to fulfill but is viewed as a positive step toward marijuana legislation.

On May 18, the Texas State House voted 96-34 in favor of Senate Bill 339, which allows patients with intractable seizure conditions to access a marijuana extract containing high levels of cannabidiol, or CBD, and only trace levels of THC.

SB 339 previously passed the Senate on May 7. It now heads to Gov. Abbott, who has until June 16 to sign off.

Although marijuana advocates welcome the bill, it's seen as flawed because it requires doctors to engage in conduct that is prohibited by federal law.

"On a certain level, the legislature should be commended for acknowledging the medical value of marijuana, and it is a historic vote in that sense," says Heather Fazio, Texas political director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "[But] lawmakers missed several opportunities to amend the bill in ways that could have provided real relief to countless Texans. Not a single patient will be helped by this legislation."

SB 339 requires doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients, but prescribing exposes doctors to federal criminal sanctions.

In other states where marijuana is legal, doctors only "recommend" medical marijuana or "certify" patients to use medical marijuana. Unlike prescriptions, "recommendations" and "certifications" are federally legal and protected under the First Amendment.

Texas is not the only state with a "flawed" bill. There are 14 states — including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Utah and even Wisconsin — that have adopted similar laws, allowing limited access to products containing CBD. But 23 other states and the District of Columbia have comprehensive medical marijuana laws that actually work.

"Nearly half of the states in the country have effectively implemented medical marijuana programs, and I have no doubt Texas could adopt an even better one," Fazio says.

Another flaw in the bill is that it allows for extracts with very little THC. Some seizure patients say that a higher ratio of THC is necessary to effectively reduce the frequency and severity of seizures.

The bill also fails to allow access to any medical marijuana products for people suffering from other debilitating conditions, such as PTSD, cancer and multiple sclerosis, for which medical marijuana has been found to have significant medical benefits.

Despite SB 339's limitations, advocates such as the Marijuana Policy Project and Progress Texas support Abbott's signing it into law. In some states, it has taken up to three years to implement marijuana laws, between the operation of dispensaries, the application process, finding locations, building facilities and starting cultivation.

"Even if doctors are unwilling to 'prescribe' marijuana, starting the implementation process will ensure a system of safe access is ready to go when the legislature meets in 2017 — at which point it can fix the flaw and expand access to patients with other serious conditions," Fazio says.

Progress Texas director Ed Espinoza says he's encouraged, because the bill has received strong support from a bipartisan majority. "While the bill does not provide for full-scale medical marijuana, it is an important first step," Espinosa says.

unspecified

A+ for Plano

Surprising Dallas suburb makes new list of best college towns in U.S.

Southern Methodist University students at a football game

Southern Methodist University/Facebook

Dallas knows how to show out.

Dallas' spirited neighbor Plano has entered the spotlight as the No. 16 best midsize college town in the U.S., while Dallas ranks among the best largest college towns, a new study by WalletHub has proclaimed.

While Plano might not be thought of as a "college town," it is home to primary campuses of Collin College (Spring Creek Campus and the Courtyard Center); Collin College has an annual enrollment of over 60,000 students. To qualify for the study, a city must have a university or college population of at least 7,500 students.

To determine the best college towns, WalletHub analyzed 415 cities based on their "wallet-friendliness," social environment, and academic and economic opportunities for college graduates. Cities are ranked overall and are sorted into one of three population categories: large, midsize, and small cities.

Several North Texas cities were represented across the three rankings by population, but none ranked higher than Plano. This Dallas suburb ranked as the 54th best college town in the nation overall, and ranks as the third-best college town in Texas.

Out of the three key dimensions, Plano ranked highest for its academic and economic opportunities – landing 25th nationally. This category analyzed Plano's quality of higher education, the earning potential for college graduates, unemployment rates, job growth rates, the share of part-time jobs and median income of part-time workers, and more.

In the remaining two categories for its "social environment" and "wallet friendliness," Plano respectively ranked 223rd and 271st nationwide. The social environment ranking compared the number of students per capita, the share of single people, crime rates, and the number of cafés, breweries, festivals, and shopping centers per capita, among others; the wallet-friendliness category examined local housing costs, student loan debt per person, the adjusted cost of living for young people, and other financial factors.

"As student living expenses can reach over $39,000 per year, it’s important to find the most bang for your buck," the report's author wrote. "Therefore, it’s best to live in a city with a reasonable cost of living, along with good academic and work opportunities. The ideal city should also provide a fun social environment to help students deal with the stress of college."

Dallas ranked as the 35th best large college town in the U.S., and it ranked 108th overall regardless of city size.

This is how the rest of North Texas fared in the report:

Denton – No. 77 overall, No. 23 among midsize cities
Fort Worth – No. 100 overall, No. 31 among large cities
McKinney – No. 110 overall, No. 31 among midsize cities
Richardson – No. 139 overall, No. 57 among small cities
Irving – No. 141 overall, No. 39 among midsize cities
Carrollton – No. 150 overall, No. 42 among midsize cities
Arlington – No. 189 overall, No. 53 among large cities
Grand Prairie – No. 230 overall, No. 71 among midsize cities
Garland – No. 265 overall, No. 83 among midsize cities
Mesquite – No. 317 overall, No. 111 among midsize cities

Other top college towns in Texas
Austin once again topped the list as the No. 1 best college town in America, boosted by the city's wealth of local colleges and universities and the local economy. The Capital City has outshone obvious contenders like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, for five years in a row, and it also tops the large cities list.

According to the report's findings, Austin has the 15th best academic and economic opportunities for college students and graduates, and the 16th best social environment. WalletHub commends Austin for having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and the "34th-best annual job growth rate," while also offering students ample ways to "de-stress after class."

"On top of that, Austin ranks 22nd in the nation for the quality of higher education among more than 400 cities in our study," the report said. "It also has the 112th-cheapest in-state tuition (including room and board), at $34,651 per year."

Four other cities in the Lone Star State appeared on the overall list of America's best college towns: College Station (No. 37), San Antonio (No. 72), Houston (No. 73), and Lubbock (No. 83).

In the rankings by city size, San Antonio ranked as the No. 2 best large college town in Texas and 23rd in the U.S., with Houston right behind as the third-best statewide and 24th nationwide.

San Marcos, a college town between Austin and San Antonio, ranked as the No. 2 best small college town in Texas, and 54th best among the small colleges nationally. In the overall list regardless of city size, San Marcos ranked 132nd nationally.

The top 10 best college towns in America for 2027 are:

No. 1 – Austin
No. 2 – Ann Arbor, Michigan
No. 3 – Charlottesville, Virginia
No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 5 – Atlanta
No. 6 – Tampa, Florida
No. 7 – San Diego
No. 8 – Scottsdale, Arizona
No. 9 – Orlando
No. 10 – Charleston, South Carolina

college towns reports wallethub dallas plano