“I’m glad I stayed vigilant. The weary cannot rest.
The Texas Tribune: By Paul Cobler, Alex Nguyen
When news broke Wednesday afternoon of a last-minute push to pass new, stricter regulations for consumable hemp products, the employees at Austin Vape & Smoke sprung into action.
Zaquiri hensen, manager of the South Austin shop, told us he notified his employees and those in other shops around town before approaching his lawmakers to urge them to oppose any ban or strict regulation. Hensen explained that he told every customer to follow suit for the remainder of the day.
Hensen stated, “I’m still watching the House stream because you just never know what is going to happen at the House floor.”
Hensen finally relaxed around nine o’clock when the Lt. Dan Patrick (R), in a posting on X, announced that the Senate will wrap up its second special session a few hours later. This effectively closes out the Legislature with no new THC bans or restrictions.
This year, the Texas hemp industry’s estimated $8 billion and the customers who support it were able to mount a massive opposition against threats from legislators due to the quick mobilization of smoke shops. The industry had been dealing with uncertainty about state legislators trying to prohibit or severely curtail sales for the majority of 2025. On Wednesday, however, they collectively exhaled a sigh.
A surprise announcement by the governor came after eight months of hearings and debates. Greg Abbott’s (R), veto in June of the total hemp ban and the last-minute negotiation on Wednesday will keep the status quo for the moment. Hemp-derived THC products—the gummies, flower buds and drinks that are sold at convenience stores, liquor stores, smoke shops and even some grocers across the state—will remain legal.
Cynthia Cabrera said, as president of industry association Texas Hemp Business Council that she was never relaxed during both special sessions of this summer despite the House’s lack of effort to once again pass an outright ban on hemp. As the Senate continued to meet until Thursday morning, she barely slept.
Cabrera also serves as the chief strategist of Hometown Hero a Texas-based producer of THC hemp-derived products. “There is no rest for weary people.”
In the absence of a solution to hemp-based products, debates could continue. Patrick has cited the protection of children as a key motivation for his ban. He reiterated this in a post he made on X.
The next likely step is to age restrict.
The Legislature passed some measures aimed at limiting the marketing and sale of THC-based products to youth earlier this year. For instance, the ban on the sale of vape pens, even those that just contain nicotine—which passed during the regular session and took effect Monday—explicitly applies to any made to look like pens, highlighters, smartphones or other items often seen in schools.
The proposal was widely supported, but lawmakers did not pass an age restriction for those who could purchase THC. The hemp industry has said that they prefer more regulations to an outright prohibition. Abbott, in his veto against the THC hemp banning ban also called for age restrictions.
Cabrera stated that if there were legitimate concerns about public safety or access for minors then an age-gate bill would resolve the issue. This piecemeal method is a waste of time. [state Sen.] Charles Perry, Dan Patrick lacked “the thoughtfulness needed to ensure Texans had access to products that they use every day.”
House Bill 36, which was passed during the special session of Congress last week, focused on banning THC for those under the age of 21. Some lawmakers even discussed the idea during Wednesday’s last-minute talks to move forward with it, but ultimately this proposal died without a hearing in a House Committee.
Retailers are left to set the age restriction.
Hensen says that since 2019 the tobacco purchase age was raised to 21, his store and the other shops with which he has regular contact have restricted entry to customers who are 21 or older.
Some supporters of the ban also expressed concerns regarding quality control in hemp products. However, Hensen claimed that his store prioritizes this aspect.
Hensen explained that if you sell a product which is not good, the customers will stop buying it. There’s no need to sell something that could send someone to hospital.
Already Damaged
The hemp industry has avoided an outright ban. However, lawmakers’ decision to take THC vapes off the market will likely have a negative impact on businesses. Hensen estimated, with other smokeshop managers in Austin that the vapes represented about 20 percent each month of their monthly sales.
I had two people come in yesterday asking about [THC] Eduard Streltsov is the manager of Dream Planet Smoke Shop, located in East Austin. “They left when I said we don’t sell them any more.”
Dispensaries can now also sell THC vapors as a result of the expansion in medical marijuana.
The shops sell nicotine, glass pipes, and bongs along with hemp consumables. The majority of shops stated that a ban on all hemp products would not cause them to shut their doors, but would lead to fewer hours and possibly layoffs.
Uncertainty in the hemp business has also prevented its growth. Austin Smoke & Vape at the start of the year was planning to open a new location and hire more employees, but those plans were paused in the spring as the ban measure made its way through the Legislature.
The Texas Department of State Health Services, despite any legislative action, has already enacted laws that allow it to oversee the hemp industry. However, lawmakers note they are seldom enforced. Officials from law enforcement claim they do not have the funds to inspect and test products regularly because other deadly drugs such as fentanyl are given priority in crime laboratories.
The impact of medical marijuana
Texas has seen two competing sides to the cannabis industry due to conflicting laws. While marijuana is illegal federally, hemp-derived THC remains legal. Hemp has been a major competitor to Texas’ heavily-regulated medical industry.
Texas’ medical marijuana program has existed since 2015. It has since been extended three times, in 2019 and 2021. It is a restrictive program that only allows patients who meet a limited set of criteria to obtain a prescription for marijuana. Only a few distributors are allowed to be in operation.
Jervonne Singltary is a representative of goodblend in Austin, Texas. She said while the firm believes that the medical marijuana and hemp industries are compatible, it was disappointed not to see any restrictions that would have put them on more equal footing.
Singletary stated that “we want to make sure that the people taking these drugs are safe and that it is effective in their intended purpose.” Singletary said, “At the very least, they are both products that intoxicate and have very little genetic difference. They should therefore be treated the same way.”
Uncertainty in the Legislature over THC from hemp has also affected the medical marijuana market. Singletary’s Company received numerous calls during the spring and the summer from concerned patients who feared that legislative discussions would harm the access to medicinal marijuana.
Singletary claimed that the passage of an expansion to the medical cannabis program would still benefit the industry. She cited the elimination of some restrictions, including the difficult requirement for dispensaries, which was not allowed to keep product on their shelves overnight. The rollout may take months and delay the increase of access to ill users.
The uncertainty was difficult to plan for, but now that we have moved past it, we can progress as a business, while the legislation that supports this program can also help the industry.
Heather Fazio said Texas, despite the heated debates around medical marijuana and hemp by 2025, is now closer to legalizing recreational cannabis than it has ever been. Fazio’s advocacy group in Texas has been working for over a decade on pushing the creation of a medical marijuana program. They have also worked to decriminalize possession of marijuana, protect hemp and legalize it.
Fazio stated that “we’re heading in the right directions and are having meaningful discussions about these policies.” We can only begin to solve the problem and reach a consensus when we have legislators and a place at the table.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/05/texas-thc-shops-retailers-ban-relief-age-limit/.