Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller published an editorial on Friday calling for improved access to medical marijuana in the state, writing that state leaders should “lead or just get out of the way if we cannot formulate effective cannabis policy for Texas.”
In the letter, which Miller posted to the Texas Department of Agriculture’s official website, the commissioner noted that he advocated for the legalization of hemp in the state and is now responsible for regulating hundreds of hemp businesses. He wrote that he also supported the development of products for medical use including hemp oil, which are improving the lives of Texans everyday when other medicines have failed. Miller added that he would improve access to medical cannabis in the next year. In 2015, the state legalized the use of low-THC cannabis products as a treatment for epilepsy, adding additional qualifying medical conditions in 2019 and 2021.
“It is my goal next year to expand access to the compassionate use of cannabis products in Texas so that every Texan with a medical need has access to these medicines,” Miller wrote.
Cannabis Enforcement Mire in Bias
In his editorial, Miller noted that the history of cannabis prohibition and enforcement in the United States has been riddled with bias and values not consistent with professed American ideals. He also noted that cannabis policy decisions have often been made based on misinformation and emotion rather than reality and that the government should only make things illegal “for a powerful reason or set of facts.”
“As I look back, I believe that cannabis prohibition came from a place of fear, not from medical science or the analysis of social harm. Sadly, the roots of this came from a history of racism,