The Texas Compassionate Use Program and CURT
The Texas Compassionate Use Program allows appropriately qualified physicians registered with the State of Texas to prescribe low-THC cannabis to eligible permanent Texas residents with medical conditions authorized under Texas law.
The program is administered by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
The secure state registry used to administer the program is called the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas, or CURT.
Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they are not quite the same:
The Texas Compassionate Use Program is the medical program.
CURT is the state registry through which qualified physicians enter eligible patients and their prescriptions.
Patients Do Not Apply to CURT Themselves
There is no separate patient application to CURT.
A patient must first be evaluated by an appropriately qualified physician registered with the Texas Compassionate Use Program.
If the physician determines that the patient satisfies the applicable requirements and that treatment with low-THC cannabis is medically appropriate, the physician enters the required patient and prescription information into CURT.
The patient does not independently register with the State of Texas or pay the State a patient-registration fee.
Who May Qualify?
Texas law limits participation in the Compassionate Use Program to patients who meet specific requirements.
QUALIFYING CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE TEXAS COMPASSIONATE USE PROGRAM FOR LOW-THC CANNABIS
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Autism
- Cancer
- Crohn’s disease or other inflammatory bowel disease
- Chronic pain
- Epilepsy
- Incurable neurodegenerative disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Seizure disorder
- Spasticity
- Traumatic brain injury
- Terminal Illnesses requiring hospice or palliative care
In addition, the Texas CUP allows medical conditions designated by the state’s Health and Human Services Commission as qualifying for low-THC cannabis, if the treatment is part of an approved research program.