This December Texas will open its first official medical marijuana dispensary. Thanks to the Compassionate Use Act, those suffering from intractable epilepsy will have legal access to cannabis. However, the state will only allow the processing and selling of high-CBD, low-THC marijuana.
According to a Houston Public Media report, 150,000 patients have already registered with the state and received doctor recommendation for the cannabis oil being offered in Texas. Knox Medical, one of three facilities to receive a state medical license, will open their doors in Schulenberg, Texas by the end of this December. Jose Hidalgo, the owner of Knox Medical, expects most patients to receive their product via courier service.
The company also has medical cannabis operations in Florida and Puerto Rico. Schulenberg is a small town, more known for kolaches and dancehalls than marijuana. But Knox chose to establish its Texas operation in Schulenberg for its advantageous position between the cities of San Antonio, Houston, and Austin.
“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. So for us, Schulenburg was a good location because you are right near the triangle of Houston, San Antonio and Austin,” Hidalgo told Houston Public Media.
Knox Medical isn’t the only grow operation in Texas. Compassionate Cultivation was among the three companies granted medical licenses by the state. While the other two businesses originally started in Florida, Compassionate Cultivation is the only one strictly operating within Texas.
Compassionate Cultivation runs its facility out of an Austin warehouse. That creates an advantageous position for the company, which recently gave a tour of its facility to FOX7. Should the state expand its medical marijuana laws, Compassionate Cultivation will be in a prime position to grow alongside the increasing demand. It also doesn’t hurt existing in a city notoriously lax on marijuana.
Like Knox Medical, Compassionate Cultivation expects to complete its first harvest by December. Though the Compassionate Use Act was passed in 2015 by state legislators, it’s been a long road to this point. But finally medical patients will have the access they need as they head into the new year.
