Texas cannabis rules for visitors

Visitors cannot legally buy or possess marijuana or medical low-THC cannabis in Texas: only permanent Texas residents whose physician has entered a low-THC cannabis prescription in the state's Compassionate Use Registry may buy it, from a dispensing organization licensed by the Department of Public Safety, and Texas fills no prescription or card from another state (Occupations Code 169.003; DPS patient FAQ). Patients have no ounce limit: a prescription covers up to a 90-day supply with up to four refills, each dose may hold no more than 10 milligrams of THC, and no package or inhalation device may hold more than 1 gram of THC (169.001, 169.003; Health and Safety Code 487.107). Anyone else holding 2 ounces or less of marijuana commits a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both, and a THC vape, wax or edible made from marijuana weighing less than 1 gram in total, counting all other ingredients, is a state jail felony (481.121, 481.116; Penal Code 12.22, 12.35).

Texas gives visitors no legal way to buy or possess marijuana. There is no adult-use market and no visiting-patient program, and the voter-approved ordinances in Austin and San Marcos that told police not to cite or arrest for small amounts were held preempted by state law in April 2025, with temporary injunctions ordered against both pending trial (Fifteenth Court of Appeals); a petition for review in the Austin case was filed in the Supreme Court of Texas on August 8, 2025. Hemp shops are common: DSHS's October 5, 2026 file lists 12,599 registered retail hemp locations, and since October 2, 2025 sellers must check government ID and sell only to customers 21 and older. Since July 31, 2026, Texas again lists tetrahydrocannabinols other than hemp's 0.3 percent delta-9 THC, delta-8 included, in Schedule I (51 TexReg 4597). Airports, Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains national parks, Border Patrol checkpoints and the drives into New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mexico fall under federal law or another jurisdiction's law.

The regulator is the Texas Department of Public Safety, Regulatory Services Division (Texas Compassionate Use Program). Check any shop's license on the state license lookup before you buy.

No. Texas has no adult-use market, and its only legal cannabis is low-THC cannabis prescribed under the Texas Compassionate Use Program. A physician may prescribe it only to a patient who is a permanent resident of the state, and the Department of Public Safety says patients must be permanent Texas residents and that a prescription from another state cannot be filled in Texas (Occupations Code 169.003; DPS patient FAQ). Texas has no visiting-patient card and no reciprocity, so a tourist cannot buy from a licensed dispensing organization, whatever card they hold at home.

For registered patients, the limits come from the prescription rather than an ounce cap. Each prescription may cover a 90-day supply based on the prescribed dose and may carry up to four refills of a 90-day supply (169.003). Since House Bill 46 took effect on September 1, 2025, low-THC cannabis means a cannabis product with no more than 10 milligrams of THC in each dosage unit, and a dispensing organization may not hand over a package, or a device for pulmonary inhalation, holding more than 1 gram of THC (169.001; Health and Safety Code 487.107). The protection covers only low-THC cannabis obtained under a valid prescription from a dispensing organization (481.111(e)).

For everyone else, possession of marijuana is a crime graded by weight. Two ounces or less is a Class B misdemeanor, more than 2 and up to 4 ounces is a Class A misdemeanor, and more than 4 ounces up to 5 pounds is a state jail felony (Health and Safety Code 481.121). Concentrates, vape oil and edibles made with THC from marijuana fall in Penalty Group 2, where less than 1 gram, counted by aggregate weight including other ingredients, is a state jail felony (481.103, 481.116). Under Code of Criminal Procedure 14.06, an officer charging Class A or B marijuana possession may issue a citation instead of taking the person before a magistrate only if the person lives in the county where the offense occurred, so visitors from outside that county do not qualify.

Hemp products are a separate category that visitors see in shops. State law allows consumable hemp products with no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC (Health and Safety Code 443.152), and under DSHS rules first adopted as emergency rules on October 2, 2025, sellers must check a government photo ID and refuse anyone under 21 (25 TAC 300.701). Two 2026 changes narrowed the shelf: rules effective March 31, 2026 measure the 0.3 percent limit as total delta-9 THC, counting THCA, and from July 31, 2026 the state schedule again lists tetrahydrocannabinols other than hemp's delta-9 allowance, delta-8 included, in Schedule I (25 TAC 300.101; 51 TexReg 4597).

Only a registered patient or the patient's legal guardian can pick up low-THC cannabis, and only from a dispensing organization licensed by DPS. Patients do not register with the state, pay no fee and get no state card: the prescribing physician enters the patient in the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas, and the patient or guardian may then take the prescription to any licensed dispensing organization (DPS patient FAQ). At pickup they show identification and give the patient's last name, date of birth and the last five digits of the patient's Social Security number.

Texas sets no minimum age for patients. DPS says the statute places no limit on patient age and that patients under 18 may require a legal guardian, whose name and last five Social Security digits the physician records in the registry (DPS patient FAQ). Before dispensing, the organization must confirm in the registry that the person is a listed patient, that the amount matches the prescription and that it has not already been filled, and afterward it records the form, quantity, date and time (Health and Safety Code 487.107).

A passport or out-of-state license does not open the door, because the barrier is residency, not identification: low-THC cannabis may be prescribed only to a permanent Texas resident (Occupations Code 169.003). Staff are checked too. Every director, owner, manager, member and employee of a dispensing organization must hold a DPS registration, which requires being at least 18, submitting fingerprints and passing a criminal history background check, and which expires on its second anniversary (Health and Safety Code 487.151).

Hemp and CBD shops follow different ID rules. Any seller of a consumable hemp product must verify that each buyer is 21 or older by reviewing a valid ID, which may be a driver's license from Texas or another state, a passport or a government identification card, as long as it shows a photograph, physical description and date of birth and is not expired (25 TAC 300.701). Stores holding a TABC license or permit must do the same, and DSHS may revoke a hemp license or registration over a sale to anyone under 21 unless the buyer showed an apparently valid ID (TABC Rules 35.5, 35.6; 25 TAC 300.702).

Only a registered Texas patient may legally use cannabis, and only a prescribed low-THC product taken by a method other than smoking. The law defines medical use as ingestion, absorption or insertion of a prescribed amount by a means other than smoking, and since September 1, 2025 a physician may prescribe inhalation of an aerosol or vapor when the patient's condition makes it medically necessary (Occupations Code 169.001, 169.006). DPS states that smoking low-THC cannabis is not legal, because the statute excludes smoking from medical use (DPS patient FAQ).

Chapters 487 and 169 do not list places where a patient may or may not take a prescribed dose, and they do not require hotels, landlords or employers to allow it. The patient's legal protection works as an exemption from the possession and paraphernalia offenses for a patient or guardian holding low-THC cannabis obtained under a valid prescription from a dispensing organization (Health and Safety Code 481.111(e)). Intoxication rules still apply: appearing in a public place intoxicated to the degree of endangering yourself or others is a Class C misdemeanor, with a defense when the substance was given as part of treatment by a licensed physician (Penal Code 49.02).

For visitors there is no legal place. Possessing marijuana is an offense anywhere in the state, private homes and hotel rooms included, and doing it within 1,000 feet of a school, youth center or playground raises 2 ounces or less from a Class B to a Class A misdemeanor, except inside a private residence with no minor present (Health and Safety Code 481.121, 481.134). Hemp products are legal to possess when they meet the hemp rules (443.201), but stores with off-premise beer and wine permits and package stores must not let anyone consume a hemp product on their premises (TABC Rule 35.7).

City ordinances do not change this. Austin voters approved an ordinance on May 7, 2022, with 85 percent in favor, barring police from citing or arresting for Class A or B marijuana possession except in high-priority felony narcotics or violent felony investigations, and San Marcos voters passed a similar measure on November 8, 2022 with 81.86 percent. In April 2025 the Fifteenth Court of Appeals held both preempted by Local Government Code 370.003, which bars cities from adopting a policy of not fully enforcing drug laws, and sent both cases back for temporary injunctions pending trial (State v. City of San Marcos, April 17, 2025; State v. City of Austin, April 24, 2025), and a petition for review in the Austin case was filed in the Supreme Court of Texas on August 8, 2025.

Not as a visitor. A hotel room is no exception to the state's possession law, so a guest who is not a registered Texas patient risks the same charges there as anywhere else, starting with a Class B misdemeanor for 2 ounces or less (Health and Safety Code 481.121). Hemp products made in compliance with chapter 443 and DSHS rules are legal to possess (443.201), which since March 31, 2026 means a total delta-9 THC limit of 0.3 percent counting THCA and since July 31, 2026 no manufactured delta-8 THC, but nothing in chapters 443, 487 or 169 requires a hotel to allow any cannabis or hemp use on its property, so the house rules of each hotel govern.

A registered patient staying in a Texas hotel may hold prescribed low-THC cannabis under the possession exemption (481.111(e)), but smoking it is never medical use, and vaping is covered only when a physician has prescribed pulmonary inhalation as medically necessary and specified the THC in each inhaled dose (Occupations Code 169.001, 169.006). The prescribed amount is tied to the registry, and DPS says dispensed products are labeled with information that helps officers confirm the prescription (DPS law enforcement page).

Hotels and resorts with bars often hold alcohol permits, which matters for hemp. A TABC license or permit holder may not sell, offer, serve or deliver a consumable hemp product to anyone under 21 and must inspect ID before doing so (TABC Rules 35.5, 35.6). The rule barring hemp consumption on premises applies to off-premise beer and wine retailers and package stores (Rule 35.7), not to bars, but a hotel's own smoking and vaping policy still applies to every guest.

No. Texas licenses no place for on-site cannabis use. A dispensing organization's license covers cultivating, processing and dispensing low-THC cannabis to patients (Health and Safety Code 487.001), medical use excludes smoking (Occupations Code 169.001), and neither chapter 487 nor chapter 169 provides for a lounge, social club or event permit. A business that let customers use marijuana would expose itself and its customers to the ordinary possession and delivery offenses (481.120, 481.121).

Hemp is where visitors meet anything lounge-like, and the rules there are narrow. Manufacturing or processing hemp products for smoking inside Texas is banned, but DSHS says retail sale of smokable products made in other states remains allowed under a lower court injunction, and it is not enforcing against properly packaged, labeled and tested smokable products sold by registered retailers (Health and Safety Code 443.204; DSHS hemp FAQ). Since March 31, 2026 the 0.3 percent limit counts THCA as well, using total delta-9 THC (25 TAC 300.101).

Where alcohol is sold, TABC adds limits. Holders of off-premise beer and wine permits and licenses and package store permits must not allow anyone to consume a consumable hemp product on the premises and must take reasonable steps to prevent it (TABC Rule 35.7), and every TABC license or permit holder must refuse hemp sales to anyone under 21 (Rule 35.5). TABC says it began these rules in September 2025 to carry out Executive Order GA-56.

Smoke shops that sell hemp must register each location with DSHS (Health and Safety Code 443.2025), and DSHS's October 5, 2026 retail registration file lists 12,599 locations. A registration covers compliant hemp products only. DSHS says products labeled as containing delta-8 THC, or shown to contain more than trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinols, may be detained and referred to law enforcement, and the Governor directed DPS on October 7, 2025 to step up inspections and undercover operations at vape and smoke shops. Hemp businesses are challenging the DSHS rules in court (Texas Hemp Business Council v. DSHS); on June 5, 2026 the Fifteenth Court of Appeals declined to block them while the appeal proceeds.

The possession laws apply in a car the same as anywhere else, so a non-patient with marijuana in a rental car, rideshare or their own vehicle faces the weight-based charges in Health and Safety Code 481.121, starting with a Class B misdemeanor for 2 ounces or less. THC vapes, oils and edibles from out-of-state dispensaries fall in Penalty Group 2, where under 1 gram is a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to 2 years in a state jail and a fine of up to $10,000 (481.116; Penal Code 12.35).

Driving while intoxicated covers drugs as well as alcohol. A driver is intoxicated if they lack the normal use of mental or physical faculties because of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug or any other substance; the only number in the definition is a 0.08 alcohol concentration, so no THC level is set and impairment must be shown (Penal Code 49.01). A first DWI is a Class B misdemeanor with a minimum of 72 hours in jail (49.04), and a person arrested for DWI is deemed to have consented to breath or blood tests for a controlled substance or drug (Transportation Code 724.011).

Registered patients get no driving exception. The exemption in Health and Safety Code 481.111(e) covers holding prescribed low-THC cannabis, not driving impaired, and the DWI definition reaches any substance that takes away normal use of faculties (Penal Code 49.01). DPS says dispensed products are labeled with information that helps officers confirm the prescription, and law enforcement can call DPS on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. to verify a patient's status (DPS law enforcement page).

Checkpoints matter on West Texas road trips. U.S. Customs and Border Protection runs checkpoints, staffed at all times, on every north-south highway leading out of the Big Bend area, and each northbound vehicle is stopped for a visual inspection and brief questions by a Border Patrol agent (Big Bend National Park). Federal law governs what agents find: simple possession is punishable by up to a year in prison and a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offense (21 U.S.C. 844).

Texas law gives visitors no exception for carrying marijuana to an airport. Texas possession law applies in the terminals at George Bush Intercontinental, Hobby, DFW, Love Field, Austin-Bergstrom, San Antonio and El Paso as everywhere else (Health and Safety Code 481.121). TSA's medical marijuana page, last updated April 27, 2026, says its officers do not search for illegal drugs but refer any illegal substance or evidence of criminal activity found at screening to a law enforcement officer, and that the final decision on an item rests with the TSA officer.

Patients flying with prescribed low-THC cannabis are in unsettled territory. A DEA rule effective April 28, 2026 placed marijuana subject to a state-issued license to manufacture, distribute or dispense it for medical purposes in Schedule III and states that any other marijuana remains in Schedule I. The DEA's separate rescheduling hearing ran from June 29 to July 15, 2026, and the Chief Administrative Law Judge stayed the case on September 29, 2026, with no final rescheduling rule. No TSA or DPS page we read addresses Texas low-THC products under the new rule, and the destination's law applies on arrival.

Crossing a state line puts cannabis under another state's law and federal law. New Mexico sells adult-use cannabis to people 21 or older, up to 2 ounces of cannabis, 16 grams of concentrate and 800 milligrams of edibles at one time (New Mexico Cannabis Control Division), but bringing any of it into Texas puts the driver under Texas weight tiers and Penalty Group 2 (481.121, 481.116). Texas honors no card from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas or anywhere else, because Texas prescriptions are limited to permanent residents (Occupations Code 169.003; DPS patient FAQ).

The Mexican border is an international boundary where federal customs law applies. CBP's El Paso field office said in April 2021 that federal law prohibits importing any amount of marijuana, that the drug and paraphernalia will be seized, and that travelers can face federal civil penalties of up to $1,000 and referral to state or local prosecutors. At Big Bend's Boquillas Crossing, open Friday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., a passport is required to enter Mexico and visitors must check in with Mexican immigration (Big Bend National Park).

No, not for visitors. Park Service regulations prohibit possessing a controlled substance unless it was obtained directly or under a valid prescription from a practitioner, or is otherwise allowed by federal or state law (36 CFR 2.35). Guadalupe Mountains National Park says possession or use of any amount of marijuana is prohibited in the park, its facilities and campgrounds and on the surrounding National Forest and Bureau of Land Management land, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 for an individual, up to six months in jail, or both.

Big Bend follows the same federal code plus a Superintendent's Compendium approved January 1, 2026, which the park says lists its park-specific rules. The park sits on the Rio Grande, the international boundary, and Border Patrol checkpoints on every north-south highway out of the area stop each northbound vehicle (Big Bend National Park). Any marijuana found there is a federal matter: up to a year in prison and a minimum $1,000 fine for a first simple possession offense (21 U.S.C. 844).

The 2026 federal rule does not open the parks. The DEA's April 28, 2026 rule moved only FDA-approved marijuana drug products and marijuana subject to a state medical license into Schedule III and states that every other form of marijuana remains in Schedule I. No Park Service page we read says whether a Texas patient's dispensed low-THC product fits the exception in 36 CFR 2.35, and federal possession law (21 U.S.C. 844) still applies on federal land.

Tribal land is not covered in detail, because no tribal government source on cannabis could be read for this guide; federal possession law applies there as everywhere (21 U.S.C. 844). Texas state parks are state land, where the ordinary state possession law applies and only a registered patient's prescribed product is protected (Health and Safety Code 481.111(e), 481.121). This guide did not read Texas Parks and Wildlife rules on cannabis.

Only registered Texas patients can receive cannabis deliveries, and only from licensed dispensing organizations. DPS says the organizations' employees deliver prescriptions as well as filling them over the counter, and tells patients to contact each organization about its delivery approach (DPS dispensing organizations FAQ). On their own sites, Texas Original lists delivery across Texas and Fluent lists a delivery site in Schulenburg. A visitor cannot become a patient, because Texas prescriptions are limited to permanent residents (Occupations Code 169.003), so delivery to a tourist's hotel is not an option.

A delivery to a patient still runs through the registry. Before dispensing, the organization must verify that the person is listed in the Compassionate Use Registry, that the amount matches and that the prescription has not been filled, and afterward it must record the form, quantity, date and time (Health and Safety Code 487.107). The patient or legal guardian must show identification and give the patient's last name, date of birth and last five Social Security digits (DPS patient FAQ).

Hemp delivery follows the hemp rules. The ban on sales to people under 21 covers delivering as well as selling or offering a consumable hemp product, and the seller must check a valid ID before completing the sale (25 TAC 300.701). DSHS may revoke a hemp license or registration if the business or an employee delivers to a minor (300.702), TABC holders face the same rule for deliveries (TABC Rule 35.5), and products must stay within the 0.3 percent total delta-9 THC limit (300.101).

No. Home cultivation is illegal for everyone, patients included. DPS says patients will not be able to grow their own cannabis, that only licensed dispensing organizations may grow it and only to produce low-THC cannabis, and that patients must buy from a licensed organization (DPS patient FAQ). Marijuana is defined as the plant Cannabis sativa L. whether growing or not, with its seeds (Health and Safety Code 481.002), so a growing plant is still marijuana under the possession statute.

The penalty climbs with weight. Up to 2 ounces is a Class B misdemeanor, over 4 ounces up to 5 pounds is a state jail felony, over 5 pounds up to 50 pounds is a third degree felony with 2 to 10 years in prison, and over 50 pounds up to 2,000 pounds is a second degree felony with 2 to 20 years (481.121; Penal Code 12.33, 12.34). The definition excludes sterilized seeds that cannot germinate, mature stalks and fiber, seed oil and cake, resin and hemp (481.002).

Hemp is regulated separately. Texas defines hemp as Cannabis sativa L. with a delta-9 THC concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis (Agriculture Code 121.001), and processing hemp or making consumable hemp products requires a DSHS license (Health and Safety Code 443.101). Plants above that level are marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act definitions (481.002).

The tax visitors meet is ordinary sales tax on the hemp and CBD products sold in shops. The state rate is 6.25 percent, and cities, counties, transit authorities and special purpose districts may add up to 2 percent, for a combined maximum of 8.25 percent (Comptroller). The Comptroller lists CBD products among taxable items unless sold to a customer with a prescription, and says CBD products are not dietary supplements and do not qualify for the supplement exemption (Publication 96-280).

For patients, the Tax Code exempts a drug or medicine prescribed or dispensed for a human by a licensed practitioner of the healing arts (Tax Code 151.313). A Texas low-THC prescription is an entry in the Compassionate Use Registry rather than a paper prescription (Occupations Code 169.0011), and we found no Comptroller publication that says how sales tax applies to low-THC cannabis.

Regulatory fees fall on businesses rather than on receipts. DSHS has restored the consumable hemp product license fee to $10,000 a year per location and the retail hemp registration to $5,000 a year per location, plus the Texas.gov fee (DSHS; 25 TAC 300.202). Executive Order GA-56 of September 10, 2025 had directed DSHS to revise those fees to reflect the full regulatory and enforcement costs to the state.

No. A Texas physician may prescribe low-THC cannabis only to a permanent resident of the state (Occupations Code 169.003), and DPS answers no when asked whether a prescription from another state can be filled in Texas, citing Health and Safety Code 487.107, which allows dispensing only to a person listed in the Compassionate Use Registry. DPS also says a parent cannot bring a child from out of state to get low-THC cannabis in Texas, because patients must be permanent Texas residents (DPS patient FAQ).

House Bill 46, signed June 20, 2025 and effective September 1, 2025, widened the program for residents. Qualifying conditions now cover epilepsy and seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, ALS, autism, cancer, incurable neurodegenerative diseases, PTSD, a condition that causes chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, Crohn's disease or other inflammatory bowel disease, and terminal illness or hospice or palliative care, plus conditions in approved research programs (169.003). Chronic pain means pain that acute, post-surgical, post-procedure or other non-chronic pain treatment does not relieve, caused by a chronic pathological process producing continuous or intermittent severe pain for more than 90 days, for which THC is a viable treatment (169.001).

The same law replaced the old cap of 1 percent THC by weight with a limit of 10 milligrams of THC per dosage unit, capped packages and inhalation devices at 1 gram of THC, allowed prescribed vapor or aerosol inhalation, barred cannabinoids that are not phytocannabinoids, and set the number of dispensing organization licenses at 15 (169.001, 169.006; Health and Safety Code 487.104, 487.107, 487.1071). DPS's general FAQ still describes low-THC cannabis as no more than 1.0 percent THC by weight; the statute controls.

DPS publishes patient counts for the program on a monthly chart. DPS's 2026 chart, in its latest archived version of May 25, 2026, shows 149,421 patients in April 2026, up from 138,567 in January, and labels these lifetime counts of patients listed since the program began in 2017 (DPS patient counts, 2026). Patients still pay no state registration fee and receive no card, and the physician, not the patient, registers the prescription (DPS patient FAQ). Prescribing physicians must be board certified in a specialty relevant to the condition and devote a significant part of their practice to it (169.002).

The lowest marijuana charge is for small amounts of flower. Possessing 2 ounces or less of marijuana is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both, and more than 2 up to 4 ounces is a Class A misdemeanor with up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000 (Health and Safety Code 481.121; Penal Code 12.21, 12.22). A pipe, grinder or papers used with marijuana can bring a separate Class C paraphernalia charge with a fine of up to $500 (481.125; Penal Code 12.23).

Products bought in legal states are treated more harshly than flower. THC other than marijuana, which covers concentrates, vape oil and infused edibles, is in Penalty Group 2, and possession of less than 1 gram is a state jail felony, 1 to 4 grams a third degree felony and 4 to 400 grams a second degree felony, measured by aggregate weight including adulterants or dilutants (481.103, 481.116). A state jail felony carries 180 days to 2 years and up to a $10,000 fine, and a third degree felony 2 to 10 years (Penal Code 12.35, 12.34).

Sharing is charged as delivery. Giving someone a quarter ounce or less without payment is a Class B misdemeanor, and selling a quarter ounce or less is a Class A misdemeanor (481.120). Citation instead of being taken before a magistrate is available only for Class A or B marijuana possession, not delivery, and only if the person lives in the county where it happened (Code of Criminal Procedure 14.06), and being intoxicated in public to the degree of danger is a separate Class C offense (Penal Code 49.02).

Local non-enforcement promises are no defense. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals held in April 2025 that Austin's and San Marcos's ordinances barring marijuana citations and arrests conflict with Local Government Code 370.003 and ordered temporary injunctions pending trial, a petition for review in the Austin case was filed in the Supreme Court of Texas on August 8, 2025, and the Austin opinion notes that the Third Court of Appeals let Bell County's challenge to Killeen's similar ordinance proceed on April 16, 2025. The state also sued Denton and Elgin in January 2024, and sued Dallas over its Proposition R charter amendment on November 20, 2024 (Texas Attorney General; City of Dallas).

DPS's Licensed Dispensaries page, last captured on July 8, 2026, lists three active Texas Compassionate Use Program licenses: Fluent, formerly Cansortium Texas (license 0004), Texas Original (0005) and goodblend, operated by Surterra Texas LLC (0006). A DPS license is required to operate a dispensing organization (Health and Safety Code 487.101), so any other shop selling THC products is outside the medical program. The DPS list gives no street addresses; each organization lists its own pickup sites and delivery service.

More licenses are on the way. House Bill 46 requires DPS to issue 15 licenses in total (487.104), and DPS named nine conditional licensees on December 2, 2025, including Verano, Trulieve and PharmaCann, and three more on April 2, 2026: GTI's RISE Dispensaries, Texas Medica Collective and Cresco Labs, with 12 other applicants on an eligibility list. Conditional licenses allow no cultivation or sales until DPS gives final approval, and a licensee must begin dispensing within 24 months of licensure (DPS news; 487.1045).

Hemp and CBD shops are a different system. Any business selling consumable hemp products containing CBD must register each location with DSHS (Health and Safety Code 443.2025), and the October 5, 2026 retail registration file lists 12,599 locations, including 1,488 rows with Houston addresses, 969 San Antonio, 850 Austin, 391 Dallas and 232 El Paso. A registration covers products within the 0.3 percent total delta-9 THC limit sold to adults 21 and older; it does not cover marijuana or delta-8 THC (25 TAC 300.101, 300.701; 51 TexReg 4597).

Medical organizations may add satellite locations to store and distribute low-THC cannabis once DPS approves them, but may not open a second one in any public health region until they have one in every region, and pickup sites approved before September 1, 2025 count as satellite locations (487.1035). DPS's rules also keep regulated premises at least 1,000 feet from schools and day care centers that existed before the application (DPS dispensing organizations FAQ). By their own location pages, the three organizations list pickup sites in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Plano, some at partner or clinic offices, and none in Dallas or El Paso.