While Texas regulators have no immediate plans to expand the state’s medical cannabis program, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) has received more than 130 applications from those looking to open a dispensary.
DPS officials received 132 applications during an application window that ran from Jan. 16 through April 28, according to a KVUE report.
RELATED: Texas Regulators Now Accepting Applications for New Medical Cannabis Dispensary Licenses
A department representative told the news outlet last week that even though the application process closed in the spring, there is no deadline to approve the applications and there are no current plans to expand the state’s medical cannabis program.
The Texas House of Representatives approved legislation in April that would have expanded the medical cannabis program by adding qualifying conditions and increasing the state’s 1% limit on THC, but that bill ultimately stalled in the Senate.
RELATED: Texas Bill to Expand Qualifying Conditions for Medical Cannabis Clears Committee
Texas passed its medical cannabis law in 2015, and there are currently three licensed dispensaries authorized to sell low-THC cannabis to patients registered in the Compassionate Use Program.
As of October 2023, there were 68,611 patients in the program, according to a DPS report.
When DPS announced in January that it would accept new dispensary applications, department officials said, “The department will only issue the number of licenses necessary to ensure reasonable statewide access to, and the availability of, low-THC cannabis for patients registered in the compassionate-use registry.”
