N. Texas cafe will sell cannabis drinks and snacks

Texas has a long way to go before it approaches anything near Colorado-style legal marijuana. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP) Texas has a long way to go before it approaches anything near Colorado-style legal marijuana. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP) Photo: Glen Stubbe, MBI Photo: Glen Stubbe, MBI Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close N. Texas cafe will sell cannabis drinks and snacks 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

A North Texas cannabis company will soon debut its first cafe, with hemp-infused drinks and snacks.

The AmeriCanna Café is a subsidiary of the publicly-traded Dallas-based North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc (USMJ). It's expected to open in Frisco by the end of the year, CEO Steven Rash said.

"We want it to be like Starbucks of cannabis," he said.

The drinks and snacks don't contain marijuana — the popular breed of cannabis consumed for its intoxicating THC. That's illegal in Texas. Instead they use hemp, the legal and less edgy cannabis plant. But that could change someday, said Rash, 67.

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Twenty-three states already sport legal medical marijuana, and Ohio is set to vote in November on whether or not to become the sixth state (plus Washington, D.C.) with legal recreational weed.

This year, Texas approved narrow use of highly-refined marijuana oil for certain medical patients, but outright legalization is still far off. If it does happen, North American Cannabis will have a head start in the Texas market. Plans for marijuana-infused products are already in the works.

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"Honestly I think (Texas is) five years away from even getting medical, let alone recreational, marijuana approved," Rash said. "When it happens, we'll be ready."

The company is already exploring THC-infused treats for legal markets in other states.

In June, the company acquired a local juice café, Fit City Blends, where it said it would test hemp products to see which worked and which didn't. In August it invited investors to sample the debut cannabis smoothie.

Rash also noted that the experienced owners of the new Fit City store would manage the AmeriCanna store.

Products will be made with imported Canadian hemp, because even the non-intoxicating plant is illegal to grow in Texas. Rash said the company is in negotiations with a Chinese company — the operator of the world's largest hemp farm, he said — to secure a larger supply under the AmeriCanna brand.

Hemp seeds are rich in nutritious proteins, antioxidants and fatty acids. Research has also demonstrated the positive effects of hemp oil for people suffering seizures, neurological disorders or post-traumatic stress.

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The idea for North American Cannabis Holdings came when Rash and his three partners, all former officers in the U.S. military, began researching the value of hemp.

"We said, 'Hey, there's a big need for PTSD from all the wars we've been fighting for the past 20 years," Rash said.

The company also operates The American Seed & Oil Company, another subsidiary founded in 2013 to explore entry into the legal cannabis markets of other states.

The AmeriCanna Café will open less than a mile away from the new Dallas Cowboys headquarters and training facility in Frisco. The company wants the first café to be a model for a national franchise rollout, and Rash said he's already spoken with interested franchisees. But for now the business is vigorously testing new hemp products at Fit City.

"This is going to be our first prototype," he said. "We want to make sure we get it right before we roll it out across the country."

Cannabis-infused products will include coffee, cooking oil, baking powder, cocoa butter, hemp seeds, hemp nuts, soaps, lotions, shampoos and bath oils. THC-infused products will be developed for sale in other U.S. states.