Marijuana gummies are now available at the highest dosage for medical marijuana users in Texas.

After Texas lawmakers approved improvements to the state’s medical-marijuana program for implementation in 2021, the state’s largest medical marijuana firm announced on Tuesday that it would expand its gummy products to include the highest legal amount permitted, 20 mg.

State lawmakers approved minor increases in the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, allowed in medicinal marijuana products during the previous year’s legislative session. THC is the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis that causes people to feel euphoric when they consume it.

 

Morris Denton is the founder and CEO of Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, a medical marijuana dispensary in Manchaca, Texas. He asserted that the potential to produce a stronger product will assist their consumers, who are primarily veterans and cancer survivors.

In addition, lawmakers expanded the medical marijuana program, known as Texas Compassionate Use, to include those suffering from cancer or post-traumatic stress disorder starting in 2021.

According to Denton, “we needed to produce a stronger product that would allow them to get to their target dose as suggested by their doctor without swallowing a large number of byproducts.”

The percentage of THC authorized in products only increased 0.5 percent to 1 percent by legislators in the last session. Because of concerns that users could become hooked to the experience of being high, opponents have argued against increasing the number of users allowed to use marijuana.

Denton referred to this as a “mistake” because it results in patients requiring more candies, oils, and other supplements in order to achieve the desired impact of the prescription.

The legislators’ hypothetical reduction in the amount of ibuprofen — the major pharmacological ingredient in medications such as Advil — allowed per capsule was a good analogy, according to the expert.

“Instead of taking two Advil to alleviate your headache, you’ll have to take twenty,” he said further. “…

If they want to place a limit on the amount of THC that a person can ingest on a daily or weekly basis, they should do so by imposing a limit on the total quantity of THC that a person can consume in a certain time period. This is not accomplished by limiting how strong our product maybe.”

Denton is also concerned that increased red tape surrounding medical marijuana could lead to consumers obtaining the drug in unlawful ways.

The weight of regulation must be reduced, he believes, in order to prevent people from putting their own medical future into their own hands.

Lance McCollum, a veteran who suffers from neuropathy difficulties, has the same concerns as others. He was able to secure a medical marijuana prescription through the state’s program, but accessing the cannabis that he had been prescribed proved to be a significant challenge.

McCollum explained that he had to travel for hours to see multiple doctors throughout the state because there are restrictions on which doctors can prescribe medical marijuana. Those doctor consultations were not free; each one he received cost him hundreds of dollars in addition to his time.

“It’s fantastic that the state is extending the usage of marijuana for medical purposes. On the negative side, it is, of course, prohibitively expensive. “It’s extremely, extremely difficult to obtain,” he explained.

‘How can they call themselves compassionate when they erect such significant economic barriers?’ This is similar to the feeling of being hungry to death as someone holds food in front of you.”

Because he has been free from alcohol for four decades, McCollum admits that convincing him to try medicinal marijuana was challenging. However, he has not discovered any addictive properties in medical marijuana, as he has with alcohol.

“I’ve never met someone who had difficulties with drugs, or whose first substance wasn’t obtained through their parents’ liquor cupboard,” he remarked. The natural plant and its derivatives were really beneficial to me while I was in a great deal of discomfort.

Marijuana use is now legal in more than 18 states across the United States. It is only completely prohibited in four states. Marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I substance by the federal government, which means it has a high potential for misuse and is therefore prohibited.