AUSTIN, Texas — New bills have been filed in the Texas Legislature to expand medical cannabis access to cover more illnesses. Meanwhile, advocates say many people dealing with trauma may not know they already qualify.
"Our program is still very small, even with PTSD, and part of that is likely awareness," said CEO of Texas Original Nico Richardson.
It's an industry that's still finding its way in Texas. Texas Original is one of the state's three medical marijuana dispensaries.
Richardson says, the compassionate use program is underutilized, especially for the more prominent diagnosis of PTSD.
He said Florida has 400,000 registered medical cannabis PTSD patients but Texas has 42,000 medical cannabis patients regardless of diagnosis, with about 10,000 still active.
"We find that the FDA-approved medications help one-third of the time with anxiety, but the other two-thirds of the time, they either don't do much or they can make the symptoms worse," said owner of Texas Cannabis Clinic Dr. Mathew Brimberry.
Brimberry agrees the program is underutilized. He said although PTSD is his No. 1 diagnosis for medical marijuana treatment, doctors sometimes misdiagnose patients with general anxiety or panic disorder.
"Both patients and providers may think that PTSD is mainly reserved for veterans or people that have experienced wartime trauma," said Brimberry.
Brimberry said PTSD can happen to anyone. He said it's a condition triggered by a life-threatening event that you've experienced, witnessed or heard about.
"It's unnerving how much trauma is out there that people are holding onto that's truly affecting them on a daily basis," said Brimberry.
Symptoms typically include intrusive memories like nightmares, avoiding situations that remind you of the event, negative thoughts and hyper awareness. If you feel this, he said it's easy to become part of the program.
"We service everyone throughout the State of Texas. We will review supporting documentation free of charge and let you know if you could qualify for the program," Brimberry said.
DPS has a list of Texas doctors who can prescribe medical cannabis. If the physician believes the patient qualifies, they will be entered into the system and then be able to go to any of the dispensaries to have the prescription filled.
Brimberry said medical marijuana is not the end-all-be-all for PTSD. He said It's important to get therapy once your symptoms are under control.
Brimberry said he has been educating physicians and Texans about the science behind medical cannabis. He was part of a observational study with 14 veterans at the initiation of allowing PTSD into the compassionate use program. He said he saw a substantial decrease in their PTSD symptomology after medical marijuana treatment.