The Texas Senate has approved a bill that cannabis advocates and stakeholders say would effectively eradicate the state\u2019s hemp industry, prohibiting consumable products derived from the plant that contain any amount of THC.<\/p>\n
This comes as a new poll shows overwhelming public support for keeping consumable hemp products legal, while strictly regulated.<\/p>\n
With the backing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R)\u2014who held a press conference criticizing the hemp market on Wednesday after visiting stores that sell cannabinoid products\u2014the hemp ban legislation from Sen. Charles Perry (R) passed the full chamber in a 24-7 vote.<\/p>\n
Under the bill, only non-intoxicating CBD and CBG items could be sold, even though hemp with up to 0.3 percent THC by dry weight was legalized at the federal level in 2018. Supporters argue that re-criminalizing cannabis with any traces of THC is necessary to close a loophole in the state\u2019s own hemp law that\u2019s allowed for the proliferation of businesses selling intoxicating products.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those that argue that this should just be more regulation and tax, there\u2019s not enough tax that we can collect that will deal with the behavioral health issues and the addictions that we currently face,\u201d Perry said on the Senate floor. \u201cIt would be in the billions. It\u2019s unenforceable because every day a new product hits the shelf that was at the whim of a chemist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they have created and what they\u2019re doing is akin to K2 and Spice and bath salts of the past that we as a legislature voted out of existence as soon as possible,\u201d he said. \u201cThe effect of what this drug is doing to the people that are involved in it\u2014contrary to what you hear\u2014is devastating lives. It\u2019s generational. It is creating psychosis. It\u2019s creating paranoia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senators approved a series of amendments from the sponsor on the floor on Monday, including one that would require all consumable hemp products to be tested and federal Drug Enforcement Administration- (DEA) certified labs based in Texas.<\/p>\n
Another Perry amendment that was adopted mandates that consumable hemp products be registered with the state Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Each product registration would carry a $500 fee, and they could not could not contain any non-cannabinoid mood-altering ingredients or additives. It would be a Class B misdemeanor to sell an unregistered product.<\/p>\n
The body also passed an amendment to make it a felony offense for to operate a hemp manufacturing or retail business without a license or permit.<\/p>\n
Senators rejected an amendment from a Democratic member that would have struck language making only CBD and CBG consumable products legal while maintaining the core regulatory provisions of the bill.<\/p>\n
Also, as amended in a Senate committee, DSHS would also be tasked with updating its testing standards to ensure that any hemp being marketed contains no THC, including natural delta-9 THC and synthetic cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC.<\/p>\n
Hemp businesses would also need to provide written consent authorizing Texas regulators and law enforcement to conduct compliance inspections.<\/p>\n
The bill<\/a> would additionally add nearly a dozen criminal offenses to state statute for non-compliant activities, including marketing hemp products in a way that\u2019s appealing to youth, possessing with intent to distribute hemp that contains cannabinoids other than CBD and CBG and delivering intoxicating cannabis products.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me make it clear: There are lots of issues that we discuss between the Senate and the House, and sometimes you have policy differences. You work those differences out. This is not one of those bills,\u201d the lieutenant governor, who serves as presiding officer of the Senate, said ahead of the vote. \u201cThis is a bill that we have to ban THC and shut all of these stores down.\u201d<\/p>\n Patrick made the comments after paying \u201csurprise\u201d visits to several hemp business, which he described as one of his latest \u201con-the-street investigative reports.\u201d<\/p>\n One of those businesses, the Austin-based Happy Cactus, said in a press release on Wednesday that the official\u2019s visit simply underscored that the Texas hemp industry is complying with regulations and proactively deterring youth access. Patrick was ID\u2019d at the door, and he was also informed that were no products containing excess amounts of THC under state law.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are proud of our team here at Happy Cactus. They handled the visit according to the best practices of Texas hemp retailers and with professionalism and respect,\u201d co-owner Todd Harris said. \u201cWe are proud to provide a legal product that helps many people in our community, including veterans and seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, I paid a surprise visit to a lottery store operated by a courier service owned by the sports betting company DraftKings. Within a week, the Texas Lottery Commission suddenly banned all courier services, and the Texas Rangers launched a broad-scope investigation into\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/llsCn4uhfQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Office of the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (@LtGovTX) March 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Following Patrick\u2019s press conference<\/a> on Wednesday, the Texas Cannabis Policy Center put out a statement decrying the event as \u201cfilled with alarmist rhetoric and unfounded claims, ignored real solutions that would effectively regulate cannabis and ensure consumer safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \u201cConcerns about semi-synthetic THC can be directly addressed through regulatory enforcement and by legalizing natural cannabis,\u201d Heather Fazio, director of the group, said. \u201cIt is Texas\u2019s commitment to prohibition that has created this market for converted cannabinoids in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf lawmakers are serious about protecting consumers, the logical step is to legalize and properly regulate botanical cannabis with naturally occurring THC, rather than enacting broad bans that drive demand for illicit alternatives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s evidently what a majority of Texans want to see, according to a survey that was jointly released by Bayou City Hemp Company, Hemp Beverage Alliance and the U.S. Hemp Roundtable.<\/p>\n The poll found that 68 percent of Texas voters back keeping the hemp market intact, while still ensuring that it\u2019s tightly regulated. That includes 80 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of independents and 52 percent of Republicans.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the legislature considers Senate Bill 3, the Baselice & Associates poll confirms that voters across party lines support a well-regulated hemp market\u2014not prohibition,\u201d Jonathan Miller, general counsel at U.S. Hemp Roundtable, said. \u201cThe responsible path forward isn\u2019t an outright ban, which would drive products underground and create unnecessary risks to public health.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInstead, the legislature should enact thoughtful regulations that prioritize consumer safety, ensure product transparency, and maintain Texas\u2019 leadership in the fast-growing hemp industry,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Perry\u2019s hemp ban bill advanced through the Senate, its prospects are less certain in the House<\/a>, where differing regulatory legislation is pending.<\/p>\n The lieutenant governor recently emphasized a survey result showing that more than half (55 percent) of Texans want the state to rein its largely unregulated market for hemp-derived THC. But he simultaneously ignored the survey\u2019s other findings: that\u00a0even more Texans want the state to legalize and regulate marijuana<\/a>\u00a0for both medical and adult use.<\/p>\n Meanwhile in Texas, a district judge last month ruled that a local marijuana decriminalization law approved by Dallas voters last year can continue to be implemented\u2014 denying a request from the Republican state attorney general<\/a> that sought to temporarily block the reform as a lawsuit proceeds.<\/p>\n Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) had filed a lawsuit with the intent to invalidate the law just weeks after the November vote. It\u2019s one of several examples of the state official attempting to leverage the court system to reverse local cannabis reform efforts.<\/p>\n Numerous Texas cities have enacted local decriminalization laws in recent years, and, last January, the attorney general similarly sought to block the reform in\u00a0Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton<\/a>.<\/p>\n State district judges dismissed two of the lawsuits\u2014which argue that state law prohibiting marijuana preempts the local policies\u2014in\u00a0Austin<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0San Marcos<\/a>. The city of Elgin reached a settlement, with the local government pointing out that decriminalization was never implemented there despite voter approval of the initiative.<\/p>\n Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has lashed out against the municipal cannabis reform efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cLocal communities such as towns, cities and counties, they don\u2019t have the authority to override state law,\u201d\u00a0the governor said last May<\/a>\u00a0\u201cIf they want to see a different law passed, they need to work with their legislators. Let\u2019s legislate to work to make sure that the state, as a state, will pass some of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n He said it would lead to \u201cchaos\u201d and create an \u201cunworkable system\u201d for voters in individual cities to be \u201cpicking and choosing\u201d the laws they want abide by under state statute.<\/p>\n Abbott has previously said that he\u00a0doesn\u2019t believe people should be in jail over marijuana possession<\/a>\u2014although he mistakenly suggested at the time that Texas had already enacted a decriminalization policy to that end.<\/p>\n That said,\u00a0low-level marijuana possession would be decriminalized in Texas<\/a> if a new bill filed last week by a key House leader is enacted.<\/p>\n Paxton had used more inflammatory rhetoric when his office announced that it was suing the five cities over their local laws decriminalizing marijuana, vowing to overrule the \u201canarchy\u201d of \u201cpro-crime extremists\u201d who advocated for the reform.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Rep. Joe Moody (D)\u2019s marijuana decriminalization bill for the 2025 session is the\u00a0latest of nearly two dozen cannabis-related proposals filed so far in Texas<\/a>\u00a0for the current legislative session. Various other measures would legalize adult-use marijuana, prohibit certain hemp-derived products, remove criminal penalties for cannabis possession and adjust the state\u2019s existing medical marijuana laws, among others.<\/p>\n Moody\u00a0sponsored a similar marijuana decriminalization bill last legislative session<\/a>, in 2023. That measure, HB 218, passed the House on an 87\u201359 vote but later died in a Senate committee.<\/p>\n The House had already\u00a0passed earlier cannabis decriminalization proposals<\/a>\u00a0during the two previous legislative sessions, in 2021 and 2019. But\u00a0the efforts have consistently stalled in the Senate<\/a> amid opposition from the lieutenant governor.<\/p>\n Majority Of Utah Voters Support Legalizing Marijuana, Poll Finds As GOP Leader Downplays Reform Prospects<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Texas Senate Passes Bill To Ban Hemp-Derived THC Products As New Poll Shows Voters Support Keeping Market Legal<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Texas Senate has approved a bill that cannabis advocates and stakeholders say would effectively eradicate the state\u2019s hemp industry, prohibiting consumable products derived from the plant that contain any amount of THC. This comes as a new poll shows overwhelming public support for keeping consumable hemp products legal, whileContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80604"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80605,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80604\/revisions\/80605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Texas Senate Passes Bill To Ban Hemp-Derived THC Products As New Poll Shows Voters Support Keeping Market Legal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"