Health care
BY HANNAH NORTON
Texas adds 9 potential dispensaries to medical cannabis program
Zooming out
Under House Bill 46, Texans can receive medical cannabis prescriptions for 15 types of conditions,
including: • Epilepsy • Seizures • Multiple sclerosis • Cancer • Post-traumatic stress disorder • Chronic pain • Crohn’s disease • Terminal illnesses
provide medical cannabis products. Under a recent state law, House Bill 46, Texas is on track to have 15 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries as soon as April. DPS issued nine conditional licenses Dec. 1 to companies that had previously applied to join the program and said it will select three first-time applicants by April 1. The new companies must pass a final “due diligence evaluation” from DPS before they can cultivate, manufacture, distribute or sell low-THC cannabis medications, according to a Dec. 1 news release. DPS said it will look into each company’s finances, litigation history and past disciplinary actions.
Nine new medical cannabis dispensaries could soon open in Texas, the Department of Public Safety announced Dec. 1. The nine companies, three of which currently operate in other states, were given conditional licenses after state lawmakers voted this spring to expand Texas’ Compassionate Use Program. Under the program, physicians prescribe medical- grade, low-THC products to eligible patients, who get the medications from licensed dispensaries. During this year’s legislative session, Community Impact reported that some Texans said the 10-year-old medical cannabis program did not help enough people, citing barriers to patient access and limits on the types of medication physicians could prescribe. Since the program’s inception in 2015, three dispensaries—Texas Original, Goodblend and Fluent—were licensed to Planned growth Nine medical cannabis providers are slated to open locations in Texas following state evaluations, joining three existing companies with dozens of locations statewide. Existing medical cannabis pickup locations Upcoming locations
Dispensaries can also create satellite locations to store products overnight, which advocates said will allow more accessible, same-day pickup of medications.
One more thing
Medical cannabis providers told Community Impact on Dec. 18 that they were preparing to offer inhaled medications in addition to edible, topical and tincture products. Texas Original CEO Nico Richardson said inhaled medical cannabis products take effect within minutes, while it can take 20-45 minutes for patients to feel the effects of other forms. “If they’re having some sort of episode of pain or … PTSD or epilepsy, through inhalation they’re able to treat it immediately instead of having to wait for the medicine to take effect,” Richardson said.
The proposed new dispensaries are:
• Verano Texas LLC in West Texas • Trulieve TX Inc. in the Panhandle • Texas Patient Access LLC in North Texas • Dilatso LLC in North Texas • Lonestar Compassionate Care Group LLC in North Texas • Lone Star Bioscience Inc. in South Central Texas
• PC TX OPCO LLC in Southeast Texas • Story of Texas LLC in Southeast Texas • Texa OP in the Rio Grande Valley
SOURCES: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, TEXAS ORIGINAL, GOODBLEND AND FLUENT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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