Texas Original, a medicinal marijuana provider, announced this week that it is opening a drive-thru pickup location in Waco.
Customers can get their prescriptions filled at the site every Friday between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. without leaving their cars.
It will be Waco’s first medicinal cannabis dispensary and the industry’s first drive-thru location in the state of Texas, according to Business Wire.
Some Texans can legally get prescribed marijuana under the state’s Compassionate Use Program, which allows licensed physicians to prescribe low-THC cannabis to patients with particular medical conditions like cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, seizures, and a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. The Texas Department of Public Safety oversees the program.
Cancer survivor and Texas Original patient Barry Freeman told Business Wire, “Medical cannabis saved my life. Within an hour of taking my first dose of Texas Original’s medicine, I felt more relief than I’d ever felt through any pain pill. I could feel the calming effect of the medication come over me. I feel better than I did at 45 years old. Emotionally and physically, it’s extraordinary to be here now and feel this way after being so sick.”
As reported by The Dallas Express, opinions on access, decriminalization, and legalization for both medicinal and recreational marijuana are varied in Texas.
Medicinal marijuana is supported by a majority of the state’s registered voters, at 83%, according to a recent Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll.
The legalization of marijuana for recreational use polled with 60% support, still a majority albeit short of anything that can be considered a consensus.
“It is a drug,” said Stephenville resident Victor Cogburn to The Dallas Morning News, having already registered his disapproval in the poll. “That’s dope. That’s dope, that is the way I look at it. No, it should not be legalized.”
State leadership is also somewhat divided, according to Cannabis Voter, a site that compiles statements and actions by politicians related to their stance on marijuana access.
Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed expanding medicinal access and decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana without prescription, yet remains opposed to full legalization.
Meanwhile, public officials like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn are more skeptical about expanding access.
