Next month eligible medical patients will be able to legally purchase marijuana in the state of Texas. Thanks to the Compassionate Use Act, the Lone Star State will join the 29 states where medical marijuana is legal and available in some form.
Questions abound regarding the notoriously conservative Texas and its medical marijuana program. We attempt to explain the program below.
Who’s Eligible?
The medical marijuana program in Texas perhaps should be considered the most limiting of any state. Only those with intractable epilepsy are eligible. In addition, those patients with intractable epilepsy are only eligible if federally approved medication is proven ineffective in treating their symptoms.
In addition, the medical cannabis offered is a low-level cannabinoid oil. It does not contain THC, the cannabinoid responsible for the euphoric “high” feeling. For now the cannabinoid oil be packaged in its liquid form to consumed in drops.
Where Can I Buy?
If you’re one of the nearly 150,000 Texans estimated to have intractable epilepsy, you may wonder how you would acquire the CBD oil. Only three dispensaries will grow, process, and sell the product: Cansortium Texas, Compassionate Cultivation, and Surterra Texas.
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Patients will receive their medicine directly at home. It will be delivered by unmarked white vehicles that will be outfitted with intensive security measures. Traveling with the drivers will be a nurse or social worker who can properly instruct how to administer the medicine.
How Much Will It Cost?
Though prices have yet to be released, a comparative look gives us some clues. Cansortium Holdings is the parent company of Cansortium Texas and is based out of Florida. Though Florida’s medical program remains a limp form of what its potential indicates, Cansortium’s website shows what Texas patients may expect to offer.
“A look online at the company’s Florida website cites prices for some CBD products as $45 for one 300 milligram vape cartridge or sublingual drops and $90 for a 600 milligram vape cartridge or sublingual drops,” writes the Star-Telegram.
When Will It Be Available?
Back in October we reported that the program was on schedule to start shipments around the third or fourth week of December. Current reports indicate that time frame is believe to remain on track.
Will The Program Eventually Expand?
That remains a distinctive possibility. Citing Florida once again, its medical marijuana program initially debuted in as strict terms as Texas’s program, but the Sunshine State recently expanded to include around 20 ailments that would render patients eligible for medical marijuana.
