Texas Original<\/a> was one of three dispensaries permitted to operate statewide before the Legislature\u2019s new law required<\/a> the licensure of 12 more by early 2026. The company plans to open its second Fort Worth store at 2812 Horne St. in a modest storefront once occupied by a 7-Eleven and adjacent to the recently opened Danny\u2019s Greek Cafe.<\/p>\n The Bastrop-based company can operate the store in the commercial district under the city\u2019s current ordinance that treats satellites as pharmacies.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Texas Original\u2019s application, filed late last year, raised concern among nearby businesses and prompted city officials to review its land-use ordinances to manage any future medical cannabis applications.<\/p>\n \u201cMy question is, is there anything we can do?\u201d City Council member Alan Blaylock said during a briefing by staff members<\/a> March 10. \u201cI\u2019m not specifying anything. I just want to know what options are available, if any at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas law bars local governments<\/a> from any action that \u201cprohibits the cultivation, production, storage, dispensing, or possession of low-THC (medically prescribed) cannabis\u201d products. It mandates<\/a> that satellites be at least 1,000 feet from a school or daycare. But less clear \u2014 and what city staffers are reviewing \u2014 is whether local governments can use zoning and other tools to regulate location.<\/p>\n \u201cIs there any way to put some guidelines around it, boundaries around it?\u201d Blaylock asked during the briefing, noting the state law does not cap the number of satellites that can open in an area. Businesses around the Horne Street location have raised questions about what satellites can sell.<\/p>\n The Texas Compassionate Use Act<\/a> allows the dispensaries and their satellites to sell<\/a> medically prescribed, non-smokeable products made of low-THC cannabis. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the psychoactive ingredient that produces a high.\u00a0<\/p>\n THC-infused products include gummies, tinctures, beverages, candies and topicals. Texas allows physicians registered in the program<\/a> to prescribe these products for more than 100 ailments<\/a>, including intractable epilepsy, PTSD, Crohn\u2019s disease, cancer, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and a terminal illness.<\/p>\n Texas Original\u2019s chief executive Nico Richardson declined a request for an interview through a spokesperson.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re expanding access to medical cannabis with plans for a new full-time location in Fort Worth, and we look forward to sharing more details soon,\u201d Richardson said in an emailed statement. He added, \u201cAs fellow Texans, we remain committed to improving access to high-quality medicine across the state.\u201d He did not provide responses to emailed questions.<\/p>\n Texas Original\u2019s application to operate on Horne Street drew questions from board members at Camp Bowie District Inc., formed 25 years ago to help revitalize the strip.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lydia Guajardo Rickard, the nonprofit\u2019s executive director, said the biggest question was about what the store could sell.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did not question the pharmacy side of the business,\u201d Rickard said. But \u201cthe board did not want another CBD store, or for it to turn into a vape store.\u201d<\/p>\n State law permits dispensaries\u2019 satellites to sell medically prescribed medical cannabis products, acting as \u201cpatient pickup\u201d locations.<\/p>\n The new law \u2014 passed 10 years after the Legislature first authorized the limited licensure to sell prescribed treatments for intractable epilepsy \u2014 doesn\u2019t cap the number of consumer pickup locations, called \u201csatellites,\u201d that dispensaries can open.<\/p>\n But the new law requires each dispensary, including the three existing ones<\/a>, to build one satellite in each of 11 \u201cpublic health districts\u201d statewide before opening another one in a district where it already has one. Tarrant County is in the state\u2019s 19-county third district.<\/p>\n The three existing dispensaries\u2019 satellites are primarily in Texas\u2019 large metro areas. Locations that existed or were authorized prior to passage of last year\u2019s bill are grandfathered in under previous law.<\/p>\n Rickard said the Fort Worth staff told Camp Bowie District that, after legal review, the Texas Original satellite qualifies as a \u2018pharmacy’ and pharmacies can locate in commercial districts.<\/p>\n Similar to the way the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission regulates sellers of alcoholic beverages, anybody with a complaint about a dispensary or satellite can file one with the Texas Department of Public Safety, Rickard noted.<\/p>\n Officials with the DPS, which administers the Compassionate Use program, did not respond to requests from the Report for interviews or to emailed questions.<\/p>\n The agency conditionally approved nine of the 12 new dispensaries and is expected to approve the final three by April 1, the deadline required by the new state statute.<\/p>\n Rickard said Texas Original didn\u2019t reach out to Camp Bowie District prior to making its application.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would have been helpful if the applicant had made any effort to meet with us as a group to help us understand the business and its operations,\u201d Rickard said. \u201cBut that did not happen. We welcome opportunities to meet with business operators to help them be successful and to share vision and planning with newcomers.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she has heard a \u201chandful of concerns\u201d from the business community.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is an unknown here,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don’t fully understand the business model and the operations and security measures taken.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephanie Scott-Sims, the city\u2019s planning manager, said in an interview the staff expects to complete its review in May and then update the City Council\u2019s Infrastructure and Growth Committee<\/a>, which heard the March 10 presentation.<\/p>\n After May, any proposed changes may need to be directed through the Fort Worth Zoning Commission before moving on to the full council, she said.<\/p>\n The staff\u2019s preliminary recommendation, made March 10, is to continue to treat satellite locations as pharmacies, allowed in commercial districts such as the one on Horne Street.<\/p>\n The staff, however, recommends the City Council split off the cultivation, production, packaging and distribution parts of the low-TCH businesses into a classification allowed in industrial districts \u2014 zoned I, J and K. Such facilities tend to be much larger than the smaller satellite pickup locations. Texas Original, for one, operates a cultivation and production facility in central Texas.<\/p>\n City Council member Michael Crain, whose west side district includes the Horne Street area, said the city must find a balance between access to prescribed products and neighborhoods\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s a legitimate use, I want people to get whatever medical attention they need,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I also think we need to balance that out with neighborhood needs. It\u2019s just common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott Nishimura is senior editor for local government accountability and a Fort Worth City Hall reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cannabis accessibility timeline<\/p>\n Texans\u2019 access to medicinal marijuana changed significantly since the Legislature passed its first bill more than 10 years ago.<\/p>\n June 2015: Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill establishing up to three dispensaries statewide for sale of products to treat intractable epilepsy.<\/p>\n June 2019: Texas expands list of qualifying medical conditions to more than 100 and drops requirement for two consulting physicians to one.<\/p>\n June 2021: Legislature adds PTSD and cancer to list.<\/p>\n June 2025: Abbott signs a bill increasing the number of authorized dispensaries statewide to 15 from three. It requires dispensaries to open one satellite location in each of 11 public health districts statewide before opening a second in a district where they already have a location.<\/p>\n Source: Texas Original<\/p>\n Prescription Pickup<\/p>\n Texas has three licensed dispensaries for medically-prescribed products made of low-THC cannabis: Texas Original, Goodblend and Fluent Cannabis.<\/p>\n Texas Original<\/p>\n Texas Original has 18 pickup locations statewide, with five in North Texas, two in Austin, two in the San Antonio-New Braunfels area, and five in Houston. The company has one store in Fort Worth, another in Hurst, and plans one at 2812 Horne St. in west Fort Worth.<\/p>\n Tarrant County pickup locations<\/a>:<\/p>\n 760 Airport Freeway, Suite 300, Hurst Goodblend<\/p>\n Goodblend<\/a> has three satellite locations in North Texas, including ones in Fort Worth and Colleyville; two in Houston; two in Austin, and one in San Antonio.<\/p>\n Tarrant County pickup locations<\/a>:<\/p>\n 1307 8th Ave., Fort Worth Fluent Cannabis<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Chocolate-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Chocolates, made with low-THC marijuana, are another product that Texas Original produces and sells in Texas. (Courtesy | Texas Original)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cultivation-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Texas, under new state law, is licensing a total of 15 dispensaries authorized to cultivate and produce medical marijuana and use it to make and sell low-THC products such as chocolates for sale in the state through satellite locations. (Courtesy | Texas Original)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/San-Antonio-Storefront-1024x598.jpg\")
Photograph of a Texas Original satellite location. (Courtesy photo | Texas Original)<\/p>\n
\n2529 Weisenberger St., Fort Worth<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-9.30.07-AM-1.png\")
Customers line up to buy low-THC medical marijuana products at a Goodblend satellite pickup location. (Courtesy | City of Fort Worth)<\/p>\n
\n6213 Colleyville Blvd., Suite 100, Colleyville<\/p>\n