Third medical marijuana company opens in Texas

AUSTIN — Surterra Texas announced this week that it’s selling marijuana-derived medicine in Texas almost a year after being licensed by the state.

It’s the third and final company to open under the state’s Compassionate Use Program, which allows patients with intractable epilepsy to get prescriptions for cannabidiol that’s low in THC, the component that gives users a high.

Knox Medical in Schulenburg and Compassionate Cultivation, both in the Austin area, made their first sales in February.

“We are thrilled to offer epilepsy patients in Texas a compelling new treatment option through the launch of Surterra’s first medical cannabis product in the state,” Surterra CEO William “Beau” Wrigley Jr. said in a statement.

Surterra, which has a facility in Austin, told state officials in April it expected to start serving patients in mid-July after first harvest in June, according to emails obtained by Hearst Newspapers.

It’s not clear why there was a delay.

A spokeswoman for Surterra didn’t return a request for comment.

Texas’ medical marijuana program is among the strictest in the United States, offering medicine only to patients who suffer uncontrollable epileptic seizures they haven’t been able to treat with traditional drugs.

Some lawmakers are proposing next year to roll back state restrictions on THC and give more patients access, including those with cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder.

So far, fewer than 600 patients out of the estimated 150,000 who qualify have gotten a prescription for cannabidiol, according to the Department of Public Safety.

Despite overwhelming interest, the Department of Public Safety licensed just three companies last year to distribute the medicine, the minimum number allowed by the law.

Surterra operates in Florida and this week announced plans to expand in Nevada.