Convenience Big Store: The first medical marijuana pickup spot is now open in The Woodlands

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The first medical cannabis pickup location in Montgomery County opened in The Woodlands.

The first medical cannabis center in Montgomery County opened in The Woodlands July 11.

It still feels like a very under-the-radar topic in Texas, but medical cannabis has been prescribed to patients with epilepsy, PTSD, cancer, and hundreds of neurodegenerative diseases since the Compassionate Use Act expanded in 2019 and 2021.

It's not easy—Texas Original, which is headquartered in Austin, has to grow, manufacture its product, test those products and ship them, all from the same location. The company has 13 prescription pickup locations in the state, but since those products must be stored in the same facility, all leftover products must be shipped back to the Austin headquarters every night.

Patients in The Woodlands and north Houston area have had to drive an hour or two to the company's only permanent pickup location in Houston to get their medicine. The new location, which is open every Tuesday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in a Class A medical facility, will help ease the burden for patients with chronic illnesses.

"A lot of our patients have very severe life-threatening and life-limiting diseases, and they can't leave their house or their communities," Dr. Matthew Brimberry with the Texas Cannabis Clinic said. "So it's wonderful to have a company like Texas Original, who has made the effort to go forth and deliver this medicine to these people."

Read the full story here.

What do you think about medical cannabis use in Texas? Let me know at claire.partain@houstonchronicle.com.

Claire Partain, Suburban reporter producer

Claire.Partain@houstonchronicle.com

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