How Convenient

Houston gets its first permanent medical cannabis pickup location

Houston's first medical cannabis location is now open — a historic milestone that is bringing life-changing medicine even closer to thousands of Texans.

Texas Original, the state’s largest and longest-running medical cannabis provider, opened the pickup location in June to serve thousands of existing patients and new qualifying patients throughout the greater Houston area.

The facility is conveniently located in the Heights neighborhood at 1714 Houston Ave. and is the first of its kind in the city.

The location operates Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am-6 pm and provides patients access to a full suite of medical cannabis products, including medical-grade gummies, tinctures, and lozenges.

In addition to the new Houston location, Texas Original operates the state’s largest network of medical cannabis pickup locations.

Texans who are interested in trying this medicine can get a medical cannabis prescription in just a few simple steps.

Ready to find out if medical cannabis is right for you? Texas Original makes the process easy.

Schedule your appointment
To set your appointment, visit Texas Original’s website and fill out the form. Texas Original will connect you with a trusted virtual clinic to see if medical cannabis is right for you.

Next, the doctor will review your medical records and confirm if you are eligible for medical cannabis, then discuss your treatment plan. Once approved, your doctor will add your prescription to an online medical cannabis registry where it can be accessed by licensed dispensaries.

Place your order
After your appointment, call 512-614-0343 to place your first order. Texas Original offers the state’s leading medical-grade cannabis products, including Texas’ first fast-acting medical cannabis gummies designed specifically to alleviate sleep-related issues.

All products undergo rigorous testing and the results are published publicly on Texas Original’s website for patients to access anytime.

Pick up your prescription
Texas Original offers a robust medical cannabis distribution network and serves patients in all four corners of the state.

Patients can receive their medicine by picking up from one of their many pickup locations across Texas, including their permanent pickup location in Houston. When you call to fill your prescription, a medical cannabis expert will help you select your pickup location and time.

Texas Original will celebrate five years of serving the state in October, making it the longest-running and only Texas-owned medical cannabis provider in the Texas market.

If you or a loved one are ready to start your journey with medical cannabis, just reach out to Texas Original to get started. Plus, enjoy a 20 percent discount on your first order at Texas Original.

Photo courtesy of Texas Original

Find it in the Heights neighborhood at 1714 Houston Ave.

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Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates swipe nearly $2B in packages from Texas homes this year

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

Getty Images

The Grinch isn't the only one stealing Christmas these days.

’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

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