Entrepreneurs smell opportunity in Texas’ emerging marijuana ‘green rush’

The city of Gunter is located about 60 miles north of Dallas. It is here that businessman and attorney Patrick Moran plans to grow, process and dispense low-THC cannabis if he can secure a state license in 2017. Moran is the founder and CEO of Texas Cannabis and its parent company, AcquiFlow. less The city of Gunter is located about 60 miles north of Dallas. It is here that businessman and attorney Patrick Moran plans to grow, process and dispense low-THC cannabis if he can secure a state license in ... more Photo: William Luther /San Antonio Express-News Photo: William Luther /San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Entrepreneurs smell opportunity in Texas’ emerging marijuana ‘green rush’ 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

The “green rush” will soon be taking off in Texas.

Beginning next year, operations licensed under the state’s Compassionate Use Program will be able to grow, process or dispense a non-intoxicating strain of marijuana specifically for patients with intractable epilepsy.

Entrepreneurs already smell opportunities to make money and help patients, although issuance of the first state licenses could be more than a year away.

“There’s a whole other industry that is being birthed in this country, just like what happened with the dot-com boom,” said Texas Cannabis CEO Patrick Moran, who hopes that his company will be among the first licensed by the Texas Department of Public Safety. “I think it’s once in a lifetime.”

A law approved by the Texas Legislature and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott last year opened the door to what will be the state’s first legal marijuana industry.

That law stipulates the marijuana prescribed to epilepsy patients must be low in THC or tetrahydrocannabinol — the psychoactive component that gives users a high when they smoke traditional marijuana. But it must be high in cannabidiol or CBD — a compound found in the marijuana plant that is believed to have therapeutic benefits for some medical conditions.

To get a prescription, patients must be suffering from epileptic seizures that can’t be controlled by traditional medication. Each prescription will have to be approved by two physicians who devote a significant portion of their clinical practices to epilepsy.

Patients won’t be allowed to smoke this form of marijuana, but can ingest it or perhaps absorb it through their skin. The most commonly discussed format is CBD oil.

Entrepreneurs like Moran, who’s planning on converting an unused cotton gin in Gunter into a cannabis dispensary, are forecasting a statewide industry that generates anywhere from $100 million to $900 million annually.

pohare@express-news.net