Tucked into a tiny industrial park just off of Bulverde Road is a small compound where several local companies purvey their various cannabis-related wares.
It’s here that the 36-foot-long CannaBus, Texas’ first mobile marijuana dispensary, parked Wednesday as a part of its statewide “Ride For Your Rights” tour.
The CannaBus is operated by Austin-based company goodblend, a subsidiary of parent company Parallel and one of only three medical cannabis operators licensed to operate in Texas. Their statewide tour kicked off earlier this month and aims to bring cannabis education and awareness to Texans across the state, said Terrence Baugh, goodblend patient advocate and spokesman.
He said only about 17% of Texans know that Texas has a medical marijuana program, Baugh said. “Under the state’s Compassionate Use Program, there are more than 150 conditions that legally qualify for medical marijuana use.”
While the tour doesn’t advocate for any political candidates, Baugh noted its timing ahead of midterm elections — early voting begins Oct. 24 — and encouraged Texans to talk to their legislators about supporting greater access to cannabis so “more people can have that as an option” as part of their medical treatment.
The medical cannabis program will never change unless Texans stand up and demand it change, Reece Fulgham, the CEO of Parallel stated in a press release announcing the tour.
“The ‘Ride For Your Rights’ CannaBus Tour was designed to educate and galvanize support for expanding access to Texans in need. We hope the support rallied will convince Texas policymakers that there’s strong public demand for real, lasting change.”
Expanding medical marijuana access
In Texas, the use or possession of marijuana is still illegal, except for patients enrolled in the state’s Compassionate Use Program, which allows residents with specific health conditions such as epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer to access cannabis oil with less than 1% by weight of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the psychoactive compound that makes users feel high.
The THC limit was raised from .5% during the last legislative session, which also added to the number of ailments that qualify, but the program remains one of the most restrictive in the nation. Advocates say that even the higher amount of THC is not enough to treat certain conditions.
Because of its low THC limit, Texas’ program is not considered an “effective medical marijuana program,” by the Marijuana Policy Project, which doesn’t include the state on its list of 38 states that have legalized marijuana for medical use.
Thus far, 19 states have gone farther, legalizing marijuana for recreational use, and five states — Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota — are set to vote on recreational marijuana this November.
As of 2019, what is legal in Texas is hemp, a cannabis cousin of marijuana that contains less than 0.3% or less THC, but does contain cannabidiol, or CBD — a non-psychoactive compound that may cause relaxation. Since then, “CBD shops” have popped up all over Texas, including in San Antonio.
Then there’s delta-8. The legality surrounding this THC variation or “isomer” is much hazier. When concentrated, this psychoactive substance can produce a high similar to marijuana, but because it contains less than 0.3% THC, it is technically legal in Texas — for now.
Last year, the Texas Department of State Health Services shocked sellers when it quietly attempted to stop sales by classifying delta-8 as an illegal substance on its website. Shop owners sued the state agency, and that lawsuit is ongoing, but sales continue.
Decriminalizing marijuana in San Antonio
Since 2018, San Antonio police officers have followed a cite-and-release basis policy for non-violent misdemeanor offenses such as possession of marijuana in small amounts. Bexar County followed suit in 2019 under District Attorney Joe Gonzales, who said it was a priority of his to implement a cite-and-release program.
In its first year, the policy saved Bexar County $4.7 million in jail booking costs, county officials say, by stopping roughly 6,200 low-level offenders from being arrested.
This week, state and local activists announced they were seeking enough signatures to add a charter amendment to San Antonio’s May 2023 ballot that would, among other things, decriminalize marijuana, turning the current voluntary policy into law.
While Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has said he plans to crack down on DAs across Texas who, like Gonzales, have implemented cite-and-release policies, he has also said he supports reducing the punishment for possessing marijuana.
Advocates like goodblend would like to see the state legislature increase the THC limit, expand who can access medical marijuana and regulate it to be safer and more uniform, Baugh said.
San Antonio residents who came out to see the CannaBus Wednesday said they would like to see these steps taken, too.
“There’s a lot of folks in San Antonio suffering, and [marijuana] is a lot safer and easier for a lot of people than [opioids] or other stuff,” said Diana Hernandez.
