Texas’ first medical cannabis dispensary is slated to open in December and according to a Houston Public Media report, there are already around 150,000 patients in the state registered to access the program. Despite the high patient count, the program is of the limited variety, offering low-THC, high-CBD oils for patients with intractable epilepsy.
Under the state’s Compassionate Use Program, just three dispensaries will be permitted to open throughout the state. The program has been derided by activists and some say that due to language in the law requiring physicians to “prescribe” cannabis the program might not serve any patients at all.
Despite the activists’ fears, Knox Medical is still opening their doors in Schulenburg, Texas on schedule. The owner, Jose Hidalgo, said even though the city has a population of fewer than 3,000 residents, they are situated “near the triangle” of Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.
“We require a large amount of land for us to even consider that and then the next consideration after that was how can we get the closest to the largest amount of the population,” he said in the report.
By the end of December, Knox Medical and other operators will be able to expand their scope to online sales, allowed by the medical cannabis law, which they will have couriered directly to the patient. However, some activists argue that patients who require CBD oil can already purchase comparable products online without a physician’s approval.