Local Veteran reacts to incoming changes to medical marijuana legislation

Yahoo

4 days ago

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 46 have been the topics of heated debates through this most recent legislative session.
The two bills have the state's medical marijuana industry hanging in the balance, and veterans are one of the groups directly affected. Local veteran Michael Kurtz doesn't use medical marijuana himself. He instead sees it as a Band-Aid solution, but it is important to his comrades.
'While it may produce a temporary fix for PTSD and anxiety, it generally just… it won't heal the issue. It won't fix the problem,' Kurtz said.
While the legislature aims to ban the sale and possession of hemp THC products with SB 3, HB 46 is aiming to expand the state's Compassionate Use Program. Kurtz sees it as a correction of previous hasty medical marijuana legislation, and the two bills still might not be the final solution to the state's marijuana situation.
'How do you balance that to where we're regulating enough or we're not regulating enough and now we're regulating too much; we're not regulating enough,' Kurtz said. 'And that's the hard part, I think.'
Senator Charles Perry authored the expansion of the Compassionate Use Program. The program allows for the use of medical marijuana but heavily regulates its distribution and THC content.
'It will be the largest cannabis… medical cannabis program regulated in the country, and probably the most well-designed,' Perry said.
The expansion isn't without its critics either. Carlos Lopez, a dispensary owner in Wichita Falls, is wary of what might happen if the new and improved Compassionate Use Program isn't up to snuff by the time the ban goes into effect.
'If they can't get the compassionate use right away, like, you know, maybe they might go and put themselves in a risky situation where they're trying to get stuff off the black market, you know,' Lopez said.
With both bills still awaiting approval, Kurtz hopes veterans can find a more permanent solution to whatever ails them.
'They need to find a community,' Kurtz said. 'And really, what it boils down to is if you have a community, you have somebody to talk to, somebody to communicate with. And that in general will help with, you know, reducing anxiety and reducing depression and things like that.'
As the legislative session draws to a close, veterans' eyes will all be on SB-3 and HB-46 as they await final approval from Governor Abbott.
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