“When it becomes apparent this medicine can help their son, their mother, their father, this quickly goes from being about a political issue to improving the lives around us,” Denton told Newsweek.
Medical cannabis is gaining bipartisan support after Texas is set to open its first dispensary for epilepsy patients, paving way for other conservative states like Kansas and Nebraska, especially, to maybe do the same.
Compassionate Cultivation is the first medical cannabis dispensary to open in Texas after receiving its license last October. It’s one of only three dispensaries to be granted a license out of 43 that applied, leaving Morris Denton, CEO of Compassionate Cultivation pleasantly surprised.
“We went from ‘oh my god’ to ‘oh shit,'” Denton told Newsweek. “Now we got to get working, we’ve got to get busy.”
The other two companies, Cansortium Texas and Surterra Texas, have yet to announce when their sales will begin. Cansortium Texas, however, has confirmed it will focus its retail strategy on delivering to patients instead of a walk-in dispensary.
The state is being very cautious about medical cannabis and wants to see what positive results it can bring, hence the strict restrictions on who can use the plant. The strict restrictions entail, for starters, cannabis prescription with low-THC – not more than 0.5 percent – and at least 10 percent CBD. Medical cannabis licenses will allow patients to take an oil form of the plant and it will only be granted to only epilepsy patients who are Texas residents. Smoking the plant still remains prohibited.
Eligible patients are required to see a doctor board-certified in neurology or epileptology to get diagnosed, and then a different doctor is required to second the first doctor’s opinion before being granted a license.
Besides the numerous strict restrictions, Texas’ first baby step towards the acceptance of medical cannabis in the state might pave way for other conservative and not-so-cannabis-friendly states to follow suit.