The Texas Department of Public Safety is expected to begin accepting cultivation and dispensary license applications under the state’s Compassionate Use Act this week, according to a CBSDFW report. The law permits low-THC cannabis oils to be used as a treatment only for intractable epilepsy.
One company, Aquiflow, has already purchased an old cotton gin in Gunter, hopeful that they will be awarded one of the state licenses. Gunter Mayor Pro Tem Larry Peters expressed support for the business, saying he hopes the tax revenue will help the town improve its infrastructure and net it a new fire truck.
“If it’s legal, I’m all for it,” Peters said in the report. “If this puts us on the map, so what? The biggest thing is it’s gonna help people.”
The law was passed in 2015, but officials delayed its rollout for two years in order to develop regulations and a registry for patients, doctors, and dispensaries.
According to a February 21 poll from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune, 83 percent of Texans support legalizing cannabis for “some use,” while 53 percent supported legalizing “for any use.”
Jim Henson, poll co-director at the UT-Austin Texas Policy Project, said the survey showed a slight shift among Republicans supporting looser cannabis laws, noting that the number of people who wanted to keep cannabis completely illegal dropped seven points.
“The other thing that may be going on here is the possible disappearance of the medium ground,” he said in a statement. “It reminds me of what happened with gay marriage, where people often chose the civil union option. A similar thing is happening with medical marijuana as a kind of way station.”
Officials previously indicated that the applications would be online today; however, they have not yet materialized.