Texas DPS opens applications for medical cannabis dispensaries - The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety is opening an exertion process to perchance adhd much aesculapian cannabis dispensaries, the bureau announced successful a quality merchandise Monday.

Only 3 dispensaries person been licensed successful Texas successful the past 3 years.

The exertion process to adhd much dispensaries nether the Compassionate Use Program opened Monday and volition tally until April 28, the bureau said.

A determination connected however galore licenses would beryllium approved would beryllium made “at a aboriginal date,” the merchandise said. But it’s improbable that DPS volition marque a determination earlier summer, successful lawsuit the Legislature passes immoderate laws that could alteration the fig of dispensaries allowed.

Texas passed a instrumentality successful 2015 that legalized the usage of cannabis-related substances for aesculapian purposes. The law, however, was highly restrictive successful the conditions it covered and however overmuch THC, the constituent that gives marijuana users a high, was allowed. The Legislature expanded the database of conditions that could beryllium treated nether the Compassionate Use Program a fewer years later. But adjacent then, immoderate advocates judge the programme is excessively selective of the conditions that are allowed and are hoping the Legislature volition walk enlargement authorities this year.

Wayne Mueller, the main of DPS’ regulatory services division, said astatine a December DPS Commission gathering that the bureau would unfastened the exertion process this month. But helium said a determination connected the timing for adding licenses would not beryllium made until June oregon July.

“This volition assistance america gauge what the existent involvement is,” Mueller said.

The 3 dispensaries present unfastened are each successful cardinal Texas, with 2 successful Austin and 1 successful Schulenberg, astir 100 miles westbound of San Antonio. With lone 3 dispensaries that tin supply cannabidiol that is debased successful THC, immoderate advocates are frustrated that determination is not capable proviso to conscionable demand.

But Nico Richardson, the acting CEO Compassionate Cultivation, of 1 of the 3 companies licensed successful Texas believes that the determination by DPS is premature.

Richardson said Florida and New York person a higher fig of patients than Texas successful a akin program. He besides said that adding caller licenses wouldn’t beryllium adjuvant due to the fact that licensed producers tin lone store the merchandise successful the installation wherever it is manufactured.

“So if I privation to service a diligent successful El Paso, and my installation is successful Austin, I person to nonstop a operator to El Paso to present the merchandise oregon springiness it to a diligent astatine a pickup determination successful El Paso,” Richardson said. “And immoderate is not picked up has to beryllium driven back... arsenic soon arsenic humanly possible.”

Since the programme started successful 2015, involvement has grown. At first, physicians could lone prescribe to patients who suffered from uncontrollable epileptic seizures.

By the extremity of 2018 — the archetypal afloat twelvemonth the programme was successful spot — much than 600 patients and 50 doctors were enrolled, according to DPS data.

But successful 2019, the Legislature passed a instrumentality that allowed thousands much radical to payment from the program, allowing patients who suffered from terminal cancer, autism and aggregate sclerosis to person prescriptions.

But Richardson said helium believes that lone astir 8,000 of those patients are “active patients,” oregon patients who haven’t signed up erstwhile oregon twice.

“While the strategy has grown beauteous dramatically since 2017, the diligent basal is incredibly tiny successful Texas,” Richardson said. “We deliberation it’s person to 100,000 full patients earlier we request to initiate different process for bringing connected caller licenses.”

One of the reasons wherefore determination are a smaller fig of patients successful Texas is due to the fact that determination is simply a bounds connected the fig of conditions eligible for the Compassionate Use Program.

The Legislature tin walk laws that would grow what carnal conditions tin beryllium treated nether the program. But it’s unclear what enactment is for expansion. State Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, has filed a measure that would legalize aesculapian marijuana.

“We should permission the determination of cannabis therapies up to a aesculapian nonrecreational and to their patients. We don’t modulate however doctors tin dispense symptom medicine oregon opioids oregon narcotics,” Menéndez said. “It should beryllium dispensaries that radical tin access, safely, legally and affordably. I don’t spot the crushed wherefore you would bounds the fig of dispensaries immoderate much than you would bounds pharmacies.”

Medical marijuana usage has gained steam implicit caller years. According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, 37 states and District of Columbia, person laws permitting marijuana for aesculapian use. And past summer, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced helium was successful favour of legalizing the cause for medicinal purposes.

Miller, who won reelection successful November implicit Democratic challenger Susan Hays, is the highest-ranking Texas Republican to endorse afloat legalizing aesculapian marijuana.