The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has received 132 applications to open medical cannabis dispensaries, with no word on how many of them will be approved or when. According to Austin-based television station KVUE, the Texas Department of Public Safety has not set a deadline for approving applications.
Open but restricted access to medical cannabis
“The department will only issue the number of licenses necessary to ensure reasonable statewide access and availability of low-THC cannabis to patients on the compassionate use registry,” the department said. DPS in January.
Businesses must meet a series of financial conditions to be approved, including having enough money to sustain the business for at least two years. These conditions are in addition to the application fees, which amount to more than $7,000.
The application period to operate under the Compassionate Use Program (CUP) of the state opened last January and was completed in April. The CUP was the result of Senate Bill 339 during the 84th session of the Texas Legislature in 2015.
Low-dose medical cannabis
Under the Texas Compassionate Program, DPS maintains an online registry of qualified physicians who can prescribe medical cannabis to patients with specific medical conditions.
In 2015, the legislature approved the Compassionate Use Act (compassionate use law), which makes low-THC medical cannabis legal for patients with refractory epilepsy.
In 2019, this law was extended to neurodegenerative diseases and terminal cancers. In 2021, it was again extended to all forms of cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder and the legal level of THC in medical products increased from 0.5 to 1%.
