A Texas law enforcement agency has released a report advising that the state’s limited medical marijuana system “does not provide for statewide access for patients” and recommending that the number of licensed dispensaries be significantly expanded to meet demand.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) didn’t create the report or endorse its various recommendations at this stage. Rather it’s releasing the findings of a New Mexico-based company, Weeds, Inc., that was awarded a state contract last year to carry out the research.
While the Texas Compassionate Use Program (CUP) has grown by tens of thousands of patients—and the state has authorized multiple additional qualifying conditions—since the low-THC medical cannabis law was implemented in 2015, DPS has so far declined to approve any new dispensaries beyond the three it was required to license.
“In general, Texas’ huge geographic spread creates unique problems for both patients and dispensing organizations trying to provide statewide access,” the report says. “The legislature’s expansion of qualifying conditions and increasing patient enrollment have not been matched by comparable increases in enrolled prescribing physicians or dispensary locations.”
“We conclude that while telemedicine and physician education can reduce access gaps between medical cannabis patients and qualified medical specialists,
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