TCUP Expansion: A Scoring Error and Its Correction
The Texas Compassionate Use Program’s 12-license expansion, authorized under HB 46 from the 2025 legislative session, has run into a significant dispute over how winners were determined. All 12 conditional licenses were issued after a two-phase competitive selection process in which DPS scored 104 Phase 1 and Phase 2 applications. The licenses are conditional, meaning recipients must pass additional due diligence review before final approval.
Shortly after DPS announced the results and posted score sheets publicly, Bayou City Medical Dispensary identified a material tabulation error. DPS had divided every exhibit’s raw total by 12 regardless of the number of scored items in that exhibit, rather than applying equal 25% weighting to each of the four statutory exhibits (D, E, F, G), as the scoring criteria document published in August 2025 indicated. Bayou City assembled a detailed analysis for policymakers demonstrating the error and its specific impact on the rankings.
DPS reviewed the issue and agreed, announcing on May 8, 2026 that it would re-tabulate all scores using the correct equal-weighting methodology. Critically, DPS clarified that this is a mathematical correction only, not a re-scoring: the individual scores assigned by scoring committee members remain unchanged. Only the tabulation method was corrected.
As a result of the correction, three companies that were not among the original winners now qualify for conditional licenses, and three previously announced winners are moved out of the top twelve. Under the corrected Phase 1 rankings, Bayou City Medical Dispensary moves from 19th to 8th, Sawtooth Texas LLC moves to 7th, and Bluebonnet Technologies, LLC moves to 6th.
Takeaway for the Industry
This episode demonstrates the importance of public transparency in government scoring processes and the willingness of diligent applicants to scrutinize results. DPS’s response also reflects a commitment to process integrity. The correction is ongoing, and due diligence reviews continue for all conditional licensees.
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Vape Devices and Concentrates: Progress and Pending Steps
The 2025 legislative session brought meaningful expansions to the TCUP product formulary. While the legislature voted to ban vape devices containing THC for the general adult-use market, vape devices were carved out specifically for TCUP patients when medically necessary, subject to approval by both DSHS and DPS. DSHS has approved a vape device for the program, but DPS has not yet granted authorization for licensed businesses to make the devices available to patients. That final step is pending and will be watched closely.
On concentrates, the news is more immediately positive. Concentrate products are now available through the Compassionate Use Program, representing an expansion of product access that many patients and providers have long advocated for. HB 46 also shifted the definition of “low-THC” from a percentage-by-weight threshold to a dosage cap of 10 mg THC per dose, and authorized pulmonary inhalation of aerosol or vapor when medically necessary, with smoking remaining prohibited.