TCC’s own Colt DeMorris has been working with patients in the El Paso area gain access to a better medical program than Texas has to offer with TCUP.
Texas’ current Compassionate Use Program (TCUP) only allows for a limited number of medical conditions to be covered, and allows only 0.5% THC maximum. For a good number of Texans, this isn’t good enough and a failure to their medical needs. This is where DeMorris comes in and helps those in his neighborhood get the compassion they deserve.
On July 1st, New Mexico’s reciprocal law went into effect. The law allows patients with out-of-state medical cards to join New Mexico’s reciprocal patient program. Basically they are honoring any out of state medical license. But Texas does not issue physical licenses to patients. There is a way around that though, even for people not in the TCUP program.
Now that New Mexico allows reciprocity DeMorris has been helping patients obtain a recommendation from doctors in California. That recommendation allows these individuals to access medical cannabis in New Mexico. It’s about a 15-minute process to obtain the recommendation.
Because California’s condition list is broad, patients with all kinds of conditions are accepted. Not the just the ones that Texas law deems fit. Once the patient goes through the process of obtaining a California recommendation, they then can go to a New Mexico dispensary. The individual will then show the recommendation and their ID. This dispensary will then add them to the reciprocal patient program. This process allows for patients to gain same-day access.
“Say that 3 times fast.” – Colt DeMorris
Patients in New Mexico do not even have it this easy. For those patients that reside in New Mexico, they have to see a doctor in New Mexico and then submit the proper paperwork to the New Mexico Department of Health. The New Mexico Department of Health takes approximately 30 days to review and approve the application. A patient who lives in New Mexico has to wait at least 30 days after submitting their application to gain access. The process DeMorris is using allows a patient to gain access the same day.
DeMorris said during an interview that on July 3rd, before he broke the news publicly on social media, he walked two patients through the whole process, including purchase.
DeMorris stated, “From starting the process of gaining the California recommendation to purchasing, took about an hour. I made sure that the process was going to work before I brought it out publicly.”
At this point, one is ready to state that crossing state lines with compassionate use cannabis of any kind is illegal and if you’re caught, you’re going to get in trouble. And one would be right on the first part, and partially right on the second.
Now patients in El Paso are able to access true compassionate use cannabis from a dispensary. Although it remains illegal in Texas and you’re currently arrested and prosecuted for it in El Paso, starting Sept. 1st, cite and release will take effect. This will be ending the initial arrest for those possessing misdemeanor amounts of cannabis. On January 1, 2021, El Paso’s newly elected district attorney, Yvonne Rosales, has vowed not to arrest and prosecute patients with a valid medical card (regardless of the state) that possess cannabis. How state police and federal officers handle it could be a completely different case. As an adult, you can make this decision for yourself.
For now, it appears that people along the West Texas/New Mexico border will at minimum, have a way to go about going to New Mexico and easily partaking in New Mexico’s program while there.