Major multi-state cannabis operators are ready to move in on Texas and its emerging medical cannabis market.
Texas earlier this year became the 40th state to legalize medical cannabis. The state updated its Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP) to include chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, and traumatic brain injury as qualifying conditions, and add methods of delivery to include lotions, patches, suppositories, pulmonary inhalation with approved nebulizers, inhalers, and vaporizers (when directed by a doctor).
The bill also replaced the current limit of 1% THC by weight with up to 10 milligrams per dose and a package not to exceed 1 gram of THC.
Now Trulieve and Verano, two of the biggest cannabis companies in the U.S., have earned tentative approval to set up shop in the Lone Star State.
Trulieve said it was given conditional approval for a Dispensing Organization license, which will let the company cultivate, manufacture and distribute medical cannabis products to Texas patients. The license is subject to final approval by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
"We are excited to be selected for a coveted Texas Dispensing Organization license and we look forward to working with regulators as we complete the licensing process," said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers in a statement. "Pending necessary approvals, we plan to provide patients compassionate care and expanded access to high quality medical cannabis products."
Verano, which runs nearly 160 dispensaries across 13 states, was awarded a similar license.
“As the second largest state by size and population, Texas’s medical cannabis program expansion marks a significant step forward for legal cannabis in the U.S., joining a growing number of states and an overwhelming majority of Americans that have embraced the regulated cannabis sector as a job creator and provider of health and wellness benefits for millions every day," said Verano CEO George Archos in a statement.
