Texas Senate passed legislation banning all hemp products in the state that contained detectable amounts of THC, as well as other cannabinoids except CBD and CBG.
The Senate approved SB 5 on the second reading of the bill in a special session on Wednesday. A third reading vote is likely to be held soon to send the bill to the House of Representatives.
This is despite the Governor’s recent veto on a measure of similar nature during this year’s regular session.
According to the proposed legislation, hemp-based products containing any level of THC are illegal. The mere act of possession could result in a misdemeanor Class B, punishable by up to 180 jail days and $2,000 fine. Only products with two specific cannabinoids—CBD and CBG—would be allowed under the Senate proposal.
Charles Perry, the lead sponsor of the bill in the Senate before the vote said: “It is impossible to regulate.” He claimed that product manufacturers were finding loopholes in federal hemp laws to make it appear as if these products are legal.
The proposal would allow CBD and CBG to be sold, “because their molecular structure shows no psychotropic effects.”
However, some senators prefer that products be banned rather than regulated.
“I think we could do something that would limit access to these products to people 21 and older who understand—maybe through mandatory testing of the products—understand what they’re getting,” said Sen. José Menéndez (R).
Perry was of the opposite opinion, stating that the Texas Compassionate use Program (TCUP) is the only program in the state to offer medical marijuana.
He said that if you regulate an illicit substance, it gives it legitimacy and credit it did not have previously.
The Senate approved the bill Wednesday after adopting an amendment by Perry that clarifies the fact that CBD and CBG legal products, which are not psychotropic, can be shipped via mail or courier.
Gary VanDeaver(R), the chair of the House Committee on Public Health, introduced identical hemp-ban legislation similar to SB 5 in the House early this week. The House Committee on Public Health is the likely first to hear the new measure HB 5 during this special session.
A group of Democratic Senators from the state of California held a press event on Wednesday to introduce two cannabis related bills. One of them would regulate hemp and allow those over 21 to purchase products with no more THC than 5mg per serving.
Second new bill will effectively legalize marijuana for adults by eliminating criminal penalties for possessing up to 2 ounces on an individual and 10 ounces within a household, if they are hidden and secure. The cultivation of six plants would be allowed, but only half could mature.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott rejected SB 3 during this year’s regular legislative session. He stated that he felt cannabinoids in general should not be banned, but regulated. Ahead of the special legislative session, he then specifically asked lawmakers to prioritize hemp regulatory issues, reiterating his opposition to enacting a blanket prohibition on hemp products—which he called “a lawful agricultural commodity—”and calling on the legislature to make two chief reforms.
Governor’s request was to pass legislation that would make it illegal to give hemp-derived products (to children younger than 21) to them. A second measure was sought to regulate “all hemp-derived products” including their potency. It also wanted them to be restricted from using synthetically altered compounds and establish enforcement measures.
Some advocates are hopeful that either SB 5 or its House counterpart could see revisions as they make their way through the legislative process—either to affirmatively regulate the hemp market or to at least ease some of the criminal penalties on individuals found in possession of the affected products.
Heather Fazio is the director of Texas Cannabis Policy Center. She sent an email to supporters this week urging them to call their legislators and demand changes.
She wrote: “I hope that HB 5 is reworked in order to regulate THC, and remove criminal penalties for possessing it.”
The senators voted on Wednesday. She stated that the Senate “has chosen to disregard the clear direction of the governor’s special session request, which calls for the regulation and not the outright ban” of these products.
(Disclosure: Fazio supports MEDCAN24’s work via a monthly Patreon pledge.)
VanDeaver’s letter, sent to the committee Tuesday by HB 5’s sponsor VanDeaver described the bill in the form it is currently at as “a start point”, suggesting future modifications would be made based off feedback.
The Texan journalist Brad Johnson reported the first letter written by VanDeaver.
Abbott continues to call for compromises that allow hemp products with small amounts of THC.
Abbott told The Texan in an interview last week that he wants to “ensure adults have the right to use hemp-based non-intoxicating products”. He also added, [products] “If they contain less than three milligrams THC, then they’re non-intoxicating.”
He said that while he was not for a complete ban, he did support the restrictions placed on access by youth to hemp and synthetic cannabinoids.
“I am, to be clear, in favor of a ban for those under the age of 21,” the governor explained. “I’m in favor of banning any kind of synthetic additive that is added to products which makes them dangerous.” “I am for a ban on any hemp-based products that reach an intoxication rate, which is greater than three milligrams THC.”
Abbott gave the same confusing answer in his other interviews on hemp. He has said there should be either a three percent or a three milligram limit for THC in hemp. This is a significant difference.
According to him, in an interview he gave to FOX 4, “every single law enforcement official” he spoke to had said “they don’t even have the money to do it”. He added, however, that “if the product is measured on milligrams, rather than the current 0.3-percent THC method, then it would be easier to quantify.”
At the Senate Committee hearing last week on SB 5, where all members voted unanimously to advance the bill, many law enforcement officials said that they preferred a total ban on any hemp product containing THC, rather than attempting regulation. Some later added, however, that they felt the state’s limited medical marijuana program, known as the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), should be expanded to ease access by patients—especially military veterans—who could benefit from therapeutic cannabis.
Notably, Abbott in June signed a bill into law that expanded the state’s list of medical cannabis qualifying conditions, adding chronic pain, traumatic brain injury (TBI), Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases, while also allowing end-of-life patients in palliative or hospice care to use marijuana.
SB 5 and companion HB 5 are among a small handful of bills introduced for the new special session to address consumable hemp products.
Other proposals include requiring extensive warning labels on products and limiting how hemp-based products are packaged.
Two new bills have been introduced: HB160 by Rep. Charlene W. Johnson (D), and SB39 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini.
The former would require a number of warning labels to be carried on hemp products with any more than trace amounts of THC, cautioning that the products can cause “cannabis poisoning that can be life-threatening to children,” harm brain development in youth, increase “risk of mental disorders like psychosis and schizophrenia” and lead to anxiety, depression and substance abuse disorders.
SB 39 prohibits packaging and marketing of hemp products in a “manner attractive to children”. This would include packaging with human, animal, fruit or cartoon shapes, as well as packaging which looks like legal products already being marketed for children. This bill also bans misleading product packaging. Infractions are punishable as a class A misdemeanor and can result in up to 12 months of jail time or a fine of $4,000
Separately, last week Rep. Nicole Collier (D) introduced a one-page bill, HB 42, designed to protect consumers in the state from criminal charges if what they believed was a legal hemp product turned out to contain excessive amounts of THC, making it illegal marijuana. The bill would protect consumers from criminal charges if they are found to be in possession of hemp-based products that contain excessive amounts of THC, making them illegal marijuana.
To be eligible for legal protection, a person would have to purchase the product “from a retailer they reasonably believed had the authority to sell hemp consumable products.”
Another bill—HB 195, introduced on Thursday by Rep. Jessica González (D)—would legalize marijuana for people 21 and older, allowing possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis, with no more than 15 grams of that amount being in concentrated form.
Another proposal calls for state officials to carry out a study of THC testing.
As for what Texans themselves want to see from their representatives, proponents of reining in the largely unregulated intoxicating hemp industry in Texas shared new polling data on Wednesday indicating that majorities of respondents from both major political parties support outlawing synthetic cannabinoids, such as delta-8 THC.
According to the survey, respondents prefer buying therapeutic cannabis through state-licensed programs for medical marijuana than from “smoking shops selling unregulated hemp.”
Ahead of the governor’s veto last month of SB 3—the earlier hemp product ban—advocates and stakeholders had delivered more than 100,000 petition signatures asking Abbott to reject the measure. Critics argued that the industry—which employs an estimated 53,000 people—would be decimated if the measure became law.