A medical marijuana retail store opened out near Austin's airport this week.
Online retailer Goodblend has been licensed to sell medical marijuana in Texas for years now. On Tuesday, it held a grand opening of its store in Southeast Austin.
"If you have your prescription, you can just walk in place your order and then leave with your product on the same day," Terrence Baugh, community relations manager for Goodblend, said.
Previously, patients placed orders through Goodblend's virtual clinic and the marijuana would be delivered.
Marijuana for medical use has been legal in the state since 2015 through an initiative called the Compassionate Use Program.
When CUP was first enacted, it was legal to use marijuana only to treat epilepsy. In 2021, the state Legislature expanded its use to include seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, cancer, spasticity, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism and an incurable neurodegenerative disease.
One bill filed during the current legislative session seeks to expand its use even more. There’s also a push in the House to decriminalize the possession of marijuana, though no movement in the Senate.
At the moment, the process to get medical marijuana is pretty straightforward: Get a prescription, take it to a distributor (like Goodblend) and be available to receive the marijuana in person. The in-person part is key. The order must be handed to you; it can’t be left at your doorstep.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly said this was the first medical marijuana retail shop in Texas.
