Houston suburb gets its first marijuana dispensary

At the same time as Sugar Land enacts a moratorium on new and expanded vape shops, a Texas-based medical marijuana dispensary planted roots in Fort Bend County.

Texas Original, the medical marijuana company that debuted its new Sugar Land location last week, hopes to change Texans’ minds about the controversial herb, one pick-up location at a time. The new location at Rophe Wellness, 116 Eldridge Rd, is open Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., joining suburban sister locations in Spring and The Woodlands. Inner-loop residents can continue to pick up at the original location in the Houston Heights.

“We view it as our mission — and our responsibility — to work within the confines of the state’s restrictions to expand access to life-changing cannabis medicine,” Texas Original CEO Nico Richardson said in a press release. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to provide improved access to thousands of patients in Fort Bend County and offer them a wider range of products to help treat symptoms associated with conditions like cancer and PTSD.”

Since 2015, medical marijuana has been legal in Texas under the Compassionate Use Act, which allows the use of prescribed medical cannabis to treat conditions from epilepsy to post-traumatic stress disorder. Texas Original is a Texas-based company offering prescription, nonsmoking cannabis products to patients—not to be confused with less regulated hemp products like Delta-8.

“All medical cannabis products in Texas must undergo rigorous testing and analysis to ensure that products are consistent, purely extracted, correctly formulated and dosed, and are free of any toxins or heavy metals,” Texas Original’s website states. “Synthesized hemp-derived Delta 8, 9 and 10 THC products may pose risks for consumers due to harmful solvents and chemicals being added without adequate testing or regulation.”

There is no age restriction to receive a medical marijuana prescription, but patients under 18 must have approval from a parent or guardian. To see if you qualify, prospective customers can fill out a form on the Texas Original website to make an appointment with a cannabis clinic.

The opening comes on the heels of new regulations on recreational substances like nicotine vapes and hookahs. The ban on new vape and tobacco shops, which went into effect immediately after a Tuesday city council meeting, came out of concern for high school students in the area having ready access to tobacco products. Medical marijuana dispensaries are not included in the ban.

Correction: The Texas Original CEO is named Nico Richardson. A previous version of this article listed Richardson’s name as Nicole. The article has also been updated to clarify that patients under 18 must have permission from a parent or guardian.