“SOME DAYS ARE LONGER AND MORE TRYING THAN OTHERS for attorney Lisa L. Pittman. One of those was May 2, when the Texas House of Representatives held its first hearing on HB 2107, which would, she says, improve and expand the state’s fledging medical marijuana initiative, known as the Compassionate Use Program (CUP).

Scheduled at 9:30 p.m., the hearing didn’t adjourn until nearly 2 a.m. as dozens of people from across the state—mothers of sick children, adults suffering from multiple sclerosis, and veterans with PTSD, among them—testified about the need for improved access to potential treatments.

‘They put the hearing last, which is just further disrespect for all these patients who are in a lot of agony,’ says Pittman. Petite and soft-spoken, the Houston native and Austin resident is the first civil business attorney in Texas to specialize in cannabis issues, representing investors and businesses interested in growing medical marijuana in Texas.”