Get Your Texas Medical Marijuana Card

Congratulations on getting your medical certification for the Texas Compassionate Use Program! Because there is no official state card or certificate, you can show your photo ID at a dispensary and legally purchase cannabis products for medical use once you’re approved.

Need to renew your Texas medical marijuana card? Here’s everything you need to know.

1. Sign in to Leafwell or register as a renewal patient if you’re new to Leafwell.
2. Speak with a Texas-licensed healthcare provider online and get approved.
3. Your provider will enter your details into the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas (CURT). As a reminder, no physical cards or certificates are issued.
4. Go to your local dispensary and show your photo ID. The employees there will verify your patient status in CURT.

Please note: If you are seeing a new physician, you must request that your previous physician terminate the relationship in CURT before your appointment.

The Texas Compassionate Use Act was enacted in 2015. This Act required the Texas Department of Public Safety to establish a secure registry of physicians who treated epilepsy. This was done to facilitate prescribing low-THC cannabis to patients with epilepsy for whom low-THC cannabis may be especially effective.

In 2019, the list of qualifying conditions for cannabis treatment expanded to include epilepsy, terminal cancer, MS, ALS, seizure disorders, and incurable neurological disorders. PTSD was added in 2021.

Other important Texas cannabis laws include:

• Recreational Use Illegal: Possession of up to two ounces is a misdemeanor that carries up to 180 days in prison, a $2,000 fine, and a driver’s license suspension (some municipalities may have more lenient penalties).
• No Physical Card: There are no cards in Texas. All you need to do is enter your nearest dispensary and they will be able to cross-reference your ID with the CURT system where they can verify that you are a certified patient.
• No Smokables Allowed: Smoking medical marijuana is prohibited in Texas. One is only allowed to consume marijuana orally through products such as oils.
• CBD and Delta-8: CBD products are legal in Texas and do not require a medical card, provided that the product contains less than 0.3% THC. You can currently buy delta-8 products, but that may not be the case forever. The legality of delta-8 products and other similar synthetic cannabinoids is up in the air in Texas. While delta-8 products can currently be bought and sold all around the Lone Star state, they exist in legal limbo.
• Cultivation is Illegal: Since cannabis flower is not legal for medical patients, home cultivation is currently prohibited in Texas.

Caregiver Requirements:

• At least 18 years of age.
• An eligible patient must be a permanent Texas resident.
• Caregivers must show proof of ID and the patient’s last name, date of birth, and the last five digits of their social security number when purchasing.
• A legal guardian must show proof of identification to the dispensing organization.

Caregiver Registration (Leafwell):

• Patients must provide the full name of their caregiver plus the last five digits of the caregiver’s social security number.

Texas doesn’t have medical marijuana reciprocity with any state. Medical cards obtained in other states cannot be used in Texas.

However, other states that will recognize the medical card of Texas cannabis patients include:

• Arizona
• Arkansas *
• Hawaii *
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Michigan (at the dispensary’s discretion)
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma *
• Puerto Rico
• Rhode Island
• U.S. Virgin Islands *
• Utah * (up to two 21-day periods in a calendar year)
• Washington, D.C.

*Visitors must complete a visiting patient application with the state program.

People under 18 with a qualifying condition can get a med card in Texas. However, a minor can only apply through a parent or legal guardian under the compassionate use program.

To register a minor patient in Texas a parent or legal guardian can be entered in CURT by the physician. The full name and last five (5) digits of the caregiver’s social security number is required to apply.