Marijuana MSOs enter Texas medical cannabis amid rapid expansion

Major marijuana multistate operators are among the nine companies poised to enter Texas’ rapidly expanding medical cannabis market.

The Texas Department of Public Safety on Monday gave preliminary approval to subsidiaries of Trulieve Cannabis Corp. and Verano Holdings  for licensing under the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), according to the Dallas Morning News.

The nine new vertically integrated licenses come amid an overall expansion of medical cannabis in Texas, which for years has had one of the country’s strictest and most limited programs.

TCUP restricted access to CBD oil to only the sickest patients, and limited business participation to only three companies.

In the meantime, Texas’ hemp THC industry has exploded to an estimated $5.5 billion market – and the state is continuing plans to regulate hemp-derived THC products despite a looming federal ban signed into law by President Donald Trump.

Who is entering the Texas medical cannabis market?

Under a bill signed into law this summer by Gov. Greg Abbott, the number of license holders allowed to produce CBD oil in the state is expanding from 3 up to a maximum of 15, each of which are allowed to operate in a specific geographic region.

According to the Morning News, the first 12 permits may be awarded to:

• Verano Texas LLC, in the El Paso region.
• Trulieve TX Inc. in the western Texas 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.
• Story of Texas LLC in the Houston area.
• Texa OP/TexaRx in the Rio Grande Valley.
•  Dilatso LLC in North Texas.

Three more permits will be awarded in the spring.

According to DPS, these conditional selections don’t guarantee licenses. The businesses first must meet all compliance requirements before moving forward.

What’s new and what’s allowed in Texas medical marijuana?

Vaporizing is also legal for the first time, but smokable flower is still banned.

The list of medical conditions qualifying patients for access to the program is also expanded to include:

• Chronic pain.
• Traumatic brain injury.
• Any “terminal illness or condition” treated with palliative care or hospice.

Thanks to that change, patient participation in the Compassionate Care Act program has seen rapid growth.

As of September, more than 127,000 patients were registered in the system, reflecting a consistent increase throughout the year, according to Fox 9 Austin.