Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called on Texas Department of Public Safety to intensify enforcement of laws concerning the sale of hemp-based intoxicants, and to enforce a recent emergency rule that prohibits people younger than 21 years old from buying cannabis.
The governor issued an order on Tuesday. Greg Abbott (R), ordered DPS’ Criminal Investigations Division to conduct a number of operations to enforce compliance by the industry with the state hemp laws. These included “targeted inspections” of smoke shops and vape stores suspected to be violating the law.
DPS CID Agents would have to use the information from these inspections in order to perform “undercover operation to identify illegal activity”, and, if warranted by evidence, to initiate criminal proceedings.
Public Safety Department’s Crime Lab will test the products of shops that are under investigation in order to determine if they comply with the legal definition for hemp. This is cannabis that contains no more than 0.3% THC dry weight.
The governor’s press release stated: “DPS will utilize all federal law enforcement and local partnerships to further investigate these cases.”
Abbott stated that Texas will “protect children from harmful hemp products.” “Today I instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety that it would increase its surveillance of vape shops, smoke shops, and other businesses violating Texas laws. Texas prioritizes protecting children.
The Texas government adopted emergency regulations to stop the sale of hemp-based products that are intoxicating to those under 21.
After similar restrictions were implemented by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) late last month, the state Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced last week that they’ve moved forward with policies changes that comply with the governor’s recent executive order on hemp.
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After unsuccessful attempts in the legislative to ban hemp products that contain any amount of THC, an executive order was released.
This month the Texas Department of Agriculture’s (TDA’s) head reacted to a GOP Senator’s “incorrect statements” regarding the compliance of Texas with federal hemp laws. Nevertheless, he hinted at the possibility of changes to be implemented to “measure total THC”, which will determine whether hemp products are legal. This could have a negative impact on the industry.
Separately, according to a GOP pollster associated with Donald Trump’s administration, both Republican and Democratic voters in Texas are opposed to the proposal for a hemp ban.
AnonMoos. Image element.
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