More cannabis companies join Texas medical marijuana program as list of potentials hits 15
AUSTIN – Texas public safety officials have tentatively approved a dozen cannabis providers to join the state’s expanding medical marijuana program.
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It’s a major step in broadening access to medical cannabis after lawmakers voted last year to grow the system from three licensed operators to as many as 15, state officials said.
The companies selected span nearly every corner of Texas, from the Dallas area and the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley and West Texas, reflecting what supporters hope will become an expansive statewide network.
The 12 providers chosen to move forward in the final approval process include four companies added since December. That’s when the Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees the “Compassionate Use Program,” released an initial list of nine conditionally approved applicants.
When finalized, the licenses will allow the companies, many of them Texas-based, to grow, manufacture, store and sell medical cannabis across the state.
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“DPS will request additional information from these businesses and will not invoice any dispensing organization license fees until the additional due diligence evaluations are completed and passed,” DPS officials said in a statement.
Under the new law, they must be operational within two years of receiving final approval. The 12 are:
- Verano Texas LLC in the El Paso region
- Trulieve TX Inc. in the Panhandle
- Texas Patient Access LLC in North Texas
- Lonestar Compassionate Care Group LLC in North Texas
- Lone Star Bioscience Inc. in San Antonio and Central Texas
- PC TX OPCO LLC/PharmaCann in the Houston area
- Texa OP/TexaRx in the Rio Grande Valley
- Dilatso LLC in North Texas
- Bluebonnet Technologies LLC in the Houston area
- Sawtooth Texas LLC in the northeastern Piney Woods area
- Bayou Medical Dispensary in the Piney Woods area
- GTI Texas, LLC dba RISE Dispensaries in West Texas
Texas already has three licensees in its decade-old program, although only two currently are operating: Texas Original in Austin and GoodBlend in Plano, which recently started dispensing on-site under the new law.
The list of conditional new licensees was updated on Friday after DPS officials said early scores were incorrectly tabulated in the evaluation process. The agency removed three companies from the original lineup and shifted them to a waiting list of 12 businesses eligible to fill future openings.
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They were Story of Texas LLC, Texas Medica Collective and Cresco Labs Texas. They had not begun operations, as final approval had not been granted.
The Compassionate Use Program law, which passed with near-unanimous approval in the waning days of the legislative session last spring, allows up to 15 licensees to provide medicines containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive agent in marijuana.
Marijuana cannot be sold recreationally in Texas.
Supporters say the law represents the state’s most significant expansion of medical cannabis access to date. It raises the allowable concentration of THC in products and lets customers use inhalers or vaporizers to access the medication. It also allows more dispensary and storage sites across the state so prices can come down, deliveries can be faster and pickup easier.
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Lawmakers broadened the list of qualifying conditions to include Crohn’s disease and other irritable bowel disorders, traumatic brain injuries and chronic pain, in addition to existing conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer.
Even so, some advocates say the expanded program still falls short for Texans who rely on widely available hemp-derived cannabinoids, including THC-A products that could soon face tighter restrictions or bans. Some users say they turn to those products to help with appetite, sleep and anxiety.
Others say the state program lacks some legal protections common in other medical marijuana systems. Patients do not receive official identification cards showing they are enrolled in the program, and Texas law does not shield participants on probation or parole from penalties tied to failed drug tests.
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