Is Weed Legal in Texas?

Is weed legal in Texas?

Texas prohibits recreational cannabis; marihuana remains a Penalty Group 2 controlled substance under the Texas Controlled Substances Act, listed as Schedule I. A narrow medical program, the Compassionate Use Program, lets registered physicians prescribe low-THC cannabis (capped at 10 mg of THC per dosage unit) to patients with qualifying conditions such as epilepsy, cancer, PTSD, and chronic pain, dispensed by a small number of department-licensed dispensing organizations. Hemp cultivation and hemp-derived CBD products with no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC are legal and regulated by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of State Health Services, but delta-8 THC and similar intoxicating hemp derivatives have been reclassified as Schedule I controlled substances.

Federal hemp change: from December 11, 2026 the federal definition of hemp counts total THC, including THCA, and final hemp products with more than 0.4 mg of total THC per container are no longer hemp; products with cannabinoids the plant cannot naturally produce stop counting as hemp on November 12, 2026. What changes, state by state (P.L. 119-37 § 781; P.L. 119-103 § 2019).

Official sources Texas Health & Safety Code 481.121 Offense: possession of marihuana (Texas Legislature) 1 · Texas Occupations Code 169.001 (low-THC cannabis, Compassionate Use Program) 2 · Health and Safety Code Chapter 481 – Texas Controlled Substances Act 3 · Health and Safety Code Chapter 487 – Texas Compassionate-Use Act 8 · Texas Hemp Program FAQ – Texas Department of Agriculture 9 · Consumable Hemp Program – Texas DSHS 6 · Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.121 10 · Texas DSHS, Texas Schedules of Controlled Substances (2020 republication), Schedule I 11

Recreational (adult-use) cannabis

Texas has not legalized cannabis for adult recreational use; legalization bills such as HB 447 (2021) died in committee, and a 2026 Democratic primary ballot question supporting legalization was only a non-binding survey. Possession, cultivation, sale, and delivery of marihuana remain crimes for adults statewide regardless of quantity, with penalties that scale by weight; some Texas cities have adopted local cite-and-release or non-enforcement policies, but the Attorney General has sued several of them over these policies.

Official sources Texas Health & Safety Code 481.121 Offense: possession of marihuana (Texas Legislature) 1 · Health and Safety Code Chapter 487 – Texas Compassionate-Use Act 8 · Texas Legislature Online, 87(R) HB 447 history 12 · Tarrant County Elections, 2026 Democratic Party primary propositions 13

Medical marijuana program

The Texas Compassionate Use Program, created in 2015 and expanded most recently by 2025's House Bill 46, lets specially board-certified physicians register with the state and prescribe low-THC cannabis (capped at 10 mg THC per dosage unit) to permanent Texas residents with qualifying conditions including epilepsy, cancer, PTSD, chronic pain, autism, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Crohn's disease, traumatic brain injury, and terminal illness. Prescriptions are tracked in the state's compassionate-use registry (CURT) rather than through a patient ID card, and low-THC cannabis is cultivated, processed, and dispensed only by a small number of department-licensed, vertically integrated dispensing organizations, currently 3 of a possible 15.

How to get a medical marijuana card

Official sources Texas Occupations Code 169.001 (low-THC cannabis, Compassionate Use Program) 2 · Health and Safety Code Chapter 487 – Texas Compassionate-Use Act 8 · General FAQ – Compassionate Use Program – Texas Department of Public Safety 14 · Texas Statutes – OC.169 15

Possession limits

Texas sets no legal recreational possession limit because recreational cannabis is illegal; possessing any amount is a crime, with penalties rising from a Class B misdemeanor for two ounces or less up to a first-degree felony for more than 2,000 pounds. For the medical program, there is no possession-quantity cap in ounces; instead, a physician's prescription in the compassionate-use registry sets the amount and dosage, capped at 10 mg of THC per dosage unit.

Official sources Texas Department of Public Safety 4 · Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.121 10

Buying cannabis

There is no legal retail market for recreational cannabis in Texas, so no one may lawfully purchase it. Registered medical patients, certified by a qualifying physician and listed in the state's compassionate-use registry, may obtain low-THC cannabis only from one of the state's licensed dispensing organizations, under a physician's prescription entered in the compassionate-use registry. Hemp-derived consumable products at or below 0.3% THC may be purchased by adults from licensed or registered retailers, who must verify the buyer is at least 21 with government-issued photo ID.

Official sources Texas Statutes – OC.169 15 · Consumable Hemp Products FAQ – Texas DSHS 16 · Texas DPS Compassionate Use Program FAQ: Patients 5 · Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.121 10 · Tex. Health & Safety Code § 487.001(3) 17

Growing cannabis at home

Home cultivation of cannabis is prohibited in Texas for both recreational and medical purposes; no individual, patient, or caregiver may legally grow marihuana at home. Under the Compassionate Use Program, low-THC cannabis may be cultivated only by department-licensed dispensing organizations that combine cultivation, processing, and dispensing at a single secured, enclosed facility.

Official source Texas DPS Compassionate Use Program FAQ: Patients 5

Penalties

Texas has some of the country's harshest cannabis penalties: possessing two ounces or less is a Class B misdemeanor (up to 180 days jail, $2,000 fine), rising through felony tiers to life imprisonment for over 2,000 pounds. Distribution, cultivation, and hash/concentrate offenses carry similarly weight-based felony penalties, and paraphernalia possession is a Class C misdemeanor. Driving while intoxicated by marijuana is judged by loss of normal mental or physical faculties, with no numeric THC limit (the 0.08 standard applies to alcohol only); a first offense is a Class B misdemeanor, escalating with priors or aggravating factors. Texas has no cannabis-specific expungement statute, though ordinary acquittal- or dismissal-based record relief is available for any offense.

Official sources Texas Statutes – PE.12 18 · Health and Safety Code Chapter 481 – Texas Controlled Substances Act 3 · Penal Code Chapter 49 – Intoxication and Alcoholic Beverage Offenses (DWI) 7 · Texas Statutes – CR.55A 19 · Texas Statutes – FA.51 20 · Texas Statutes – PE.49 §49.01 21 · Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.121 10 · Tex. Penal Code § 12.22 22 · Tex. Penal Code § 49.01(2) 23

Product rules: CBD, delta-8 and hemp

Under the Compassionate Use Program, low-THC cannabis products are capped at 10 mg of THC per dosage unit (no more than 1 gram of THC per package or inhalation device) and, following 2025's HB 46 expansion, may include oils, edibles, patches, lotions, inhalers, and certain vaporized forms. Separately, hemp-derived consumable products (CBD oil, gummies, foods, drinks, topicals, and over-the-counter drugs) must stay at or below 0.3% delta-9 THC, be lab-tested, and use tamper-evident, child-resistant packaging; delta-8 THC products are treated as controlled substances rather than legal hemp.

Federal hemp change: from December 11, 2026 the federal definition of hemp counts total THC, including THCA, and final hemp products with more than 0.4 mg of total THC per container are no longer hemp; products with cannabinoids the plant cannot naturally produce stop counting as hemp on November 12, 2026. What changes, state by state (P.L. 119-37 § 781; P.L. 119-103 § 2019).

Official sources Texas Hemp Program FAQ – Texas Department of Agriculture 9 · Consumable Hemp Products FAQ – Texas DSHS 16 · Consumable Hemp Program – Texas DSHS 6 · Health and Safety Code Chapter 481 – Texas Controlled Substances Act 3 · Texas Department of Public Safety (PDF: adminRules.pdf) 24 · Health and Safety Code Chapter 487 – Texas Compassionate-Use Act 8

Cannabis taxes

Texas imposes no cannabis-specific excise, sales, or cultivation tax because there is no legal recreational cannabis retail market, and the medical Compassionate Use Program operates through physician prescriptions of low-THC cannabis dispensed by DPS-licensed dispensing organizations. There is no dedicated cannabis tax statute and no cannabis tax revenue.

Official sources Texas House Bill Analysis, 84(R) H.B. 1905 (2015) 25 · Tex. Occupations Code § 169.002 26 · Tex. Health & Safety Code § 487.001(3) 17

Cannabis business licensing

Texas licenses only a small, capped number of vertically integrated 'dispensing organizations' to cultivate, process, and dispense low-THC medical cannabis; House Bill 46 (2025) raised the statewide cap to 15 licenses, of which 3 were active as of the DPS's most recent listing. Licenses are awarded through a competitive, qualifications-based review rather than a lottery, cost $488,520 for an initial two-year term (renewal $318,511), and are not restricted to Texas residents. There is no comparable licensing structure for recreational cannabis because it remains illegal; hemp and CBD businesses are licensed separately by the Department of Agriculture and DSHS.

Official sources Health and Safety Code Chapter 487 – Texas Compassionate-Use Act 8 · Application Information | Department of Public Safety 27 · Texas Department of Public Safety (PDF: adminRules.pdf) 24

Visiting Texas?

• Buying as a visitor: Recreational sales are not legal in Texas.
• Out-of-state medical cards and visiting patients: Texas does not recognize out-of-state medical cannabis registrations; a physician may only prescribe low-THC cannabis to a patient who is a permanent resident of Texas.
• Federal land and airports: cannabis remains illegal in national parks and on other federal land even in states where it is legal, and TSA refers any illegal substance found at airport screening to law enforcement. Do not cross state lines with cannabis.

Official sources Texas Statutes – OC.169 15 · Consumable Hemp Products FAQ – Texas DSHS 16 · National Park Service – Shenandoah: alcohol and marijuana policy 28 · TSA – What can I bring? Medical marijuana 29

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