First Texas Original location opens in Sugar Land

Texas Original, the state's largest medical cannabis provider, recently opened its first medical cannabis prescription pickup location in Sugar Land.

Why it matters: Texas Original CEO Nico Richardson tells Axios that the company plans to keep expanding throughout the state and adding more locations to improve access to regulated products for patients.

Catch up quick: Though it's low profile, Texas does have a medical marijuana program. The state's small and intensely regulated Compassionate Use Program allows approved doctors to legally prescribe low levels of THC to treat conditions like cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder and epilepsy.

• Across the state, 5,000 to 6,000 orders are placed per month through Texas Original, per Richardson.

Driving the news: The Sugar Land location is in Rophe Wellness & Weightloss and is open to patients from 11am to 3pm every Thursday.

• Houston also has a permanent location in the Heights and pickup locations in Spring and The Woodlands

Between the lines: Texas Original decides on the pickup location based on its patient database.

• "We're not looking necessarily for high foot-traffic areas that people are going to walk by and see. We're looking for strategically located locations that we can send patients to that are close to where they live," Richardson says, adding that Sugar Land was an area with a high density of patients.

Worthy to note: Texas Original also announced last week the launch of its new pineapple gummies, its first gummy product to incorporate Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) , a whole-plant extract that's high in demand and, anecdotally, has more efficacy, per Richardson.

What we're watching: Texas Original plans to continue expanding its RSO product line due to the demand.

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