Making Texas History: Compassionate Cultivation to Open State’s First Dispensary

Making Texas History: Compassionate Cultivation to Open State’s First Dispensary
Making Texas History: Compassionate Cultivation to Open State’s First Dispensary

Compassionate Cultivation will Start Selling Lab-Tested CBD Oil to Registered Patients in Texas on Feb. 8, a Historic Milestone for State’s Cannabis Program

Compassionate Cultivation is opening its first dispensary on Feb. 8 in the Austin area. This historic event signifies Texas’ first licensed medical cannabis dispensary, making lab-tested cannabidiol (CBD) extract oil available under the Texas Compassionate Use Act to registered patients diagnosed with intractable epilepsy. “Compassionate Cultivation is proud to be the very first licensee to open a medical cannabis dispensary in the state of Texas,” CEO Morris Denton said. “Our company is dedicated to reducing the suffering of qualifying patients in the Lone Star State, and we are thrilled to offer the highest-quality medical cannabis products, with plants grown and refined by our cultivation and engineering experts at our state-of-the-art facility.” The dispensary’s grand opening party is open to the public from 3-7 p.m. at 12701 Lowden Lane in Manchaca. However, the purchase of cannabis-based medicine is limited to state-registered patients and legal guardians. Compassionate Cultivation’s CBD products are available at the dispensary location and via its delivery service that accommodates patients across the state. Overseeing Compassionate Cultivation retail operations is Dispensary Manager Cullen Vujosevic, a Texas native with more than five years of experience operating licensed medical cannabis dispensaries in New Mexico. “Patients can expect a busy and exciting opening day at Compassionate Cultivation’s dispensary,” Vujosevic said. “Our expert staff will be ready to answer questions, as well as provide patient consultations, physician outreach resources and detailed information on our product lines and retail merchandise.” In preparation for the dispensary opening, Compassionate Cultivation has been working closely with Texas lawmakers, patients and advocacy groups, including the Texas Epilepsy Foundation, to ensure patients can safely and legally access high-quality cannabis oil products under the Compassionate Use Act. As one of three licensed medical cannabis businesses in the state, Compassionate Cultivation also has been working with physicians across the state to empower them with vital, research-based information about how this plant-based medicine can help ease the suffering for patients with intractable epilepsy who haven’t responded to conventional treatments. “I’m amazed by the medical capacity of this program,” Vujosevic said. “In New Mexico and other states, there’s no medical provider interaction woven into the medical cannabis program. But in Texas, the Compassionate Use Act is heavily integrated with the healthcare providers who closely interact with patients. That allows physicians to provide patients with a much higher level of medical care.” The Texas Compassionate Use Act allows certain patients diagnosed with intractable epilepsy to access medical cannabis products through state-licensed dispensaries. Physicians who specialize in the field of examining, diagnosing and treating epilepsy, must register with the Department of Public Safety’s Compassionate Use Program, and can then develop a treatment program for patients and prescribe medical cannabis oil through the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas (CURT). Once registered, patients and their legal guardians may legally fill their medical cannabis prescriptions through Compassionate Cultivation’s licensed dispensary and delivery service. Starting Feb. 8, the dispensary will be open Thursday through Saturday, from 10 a.m to 7 p.m., and also by appointment. Deliveries will be conducted Sunday through Tuesday each week.
(Photo credit: Sum & Substance Photography)