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Top Texas medical cannabis provider sprouts new pickup location in Sugar Land

The new Texas Original pickup location can be found inside Rophe Wellness in Sugar Land.

Photo courtesy of Texas Original

Popular medical cannabis supplier Texas Original is continuing its Houston-area expansion with the opening of its newest pickup location in Sugar Land, the first-ever location in Fort Bend County.

Texas Original's new shop opened March 27 at 116 Eldridge Rd, Suite B, inside Rophe Wellness. Pickups can be scheduled weekly on Thursdays between 11 am and 3 pm.

The medical cannabis company operates the largest distribution network in Texas, providing a full range of medical cannabis products to patients through the Texas Compassionate Use Program (CUP).

The new Sugar Land location is now the most convenient location for customers in Fort Bend County, the 10th largest county in Texas by population. The Houston-area has three additional pickup locations in Spring, The Woodlands, and a permanent location in the Heights. Texas Original also offers a delivery service to bring prescriptions to patients.

According to its website, Texas Original's hope is to change Texans' perspective on marijuana through "the power and the truth of medical cannabis." CEO Nico Richardson said in a release that the new Sugar Land pickup location will further the company's commitment to expanding access to all Texans.

"We view it as our mission — and our responsibility — to work within the confines of the state’s restrictions to expand access to life-changing cannabis medicine," Richardson said. "We’re grateful for the opportunity to provide improved access to thousands of patients in Fort Bend County and offer them a wider range of products to help treat symptoms associated with conditions like cancer and PTSD."

Conditions that can be treated with medical cannabis include many neurodegenerative disorders, neuropathy, PTSD, and epilepsy. Texans with one of these conditions can get a prescription through their physician or an online clinic that is registered with the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas.

More information about Texas Original and its newest Sugar Land location can be found on its website.

houston sugar land cannabis medical cannabis

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”