According to the latest version of lower chamber THC regulations bill, retailers can continue to sell edibles and drinks along with low dose smokable cannabis flowers. The bill would prohibit vapes, and counties could vote on whether to restrict the sale of consumable hemp.
Bill calls for much stricter regulations than those in place today. Six years ago, the GOP controlled Legislature unintentionally sparked a booming hemp-based food market. This bill requires that all products are sold in packaging designed to prevent children from opening them. It must not be similar to popular snacks, or look as if they were marketed towards kids. The law would also set an age restriction that isn’t in the existing legislation, limiting sales to people over 21.
A school or any other area frequented primarily by children would also have to be excluded from the sales ban.
Senate Bill 3 – the original version of this measure – was passed by the Upper chamber of parliament in March. The new draft is more permissive that an earlier version floated by Rep. Ken King last month, which would only allow THC drinks.
Patrick, Republican Senate President, said he would force an extra legislative session in the event that lawmakers did not pass a complete ban of THC.
King, who is a Canadian Republican and chairs the House State Affairs Committee in his home, called this latest version a “regulatory act” that was “substantially new” compared to earlier drafts. The committee advanced the bill on a 15–0 vote. Now it will be sent to the House Calendars Committee to decide if a vote can take place on the House floor.
Hemp industry leaders are looking to the House to pass stricter regulations and not to end the hemp industry. Hemp retailers are largely in favor of King’s SB 3 draft, which includes restrictions to keep hemp products away from minors.
It is a response to over 8,000 cannabis shops that have popped-up across Texas in the last year since the GOP controlled Legislature legalized the sale hemp products. This law was passed in Texas one year after hemp became legalized across the country. It was meant to promote Texas agriculture through the sale of hemp that contained trace amounts of THC delta-9, the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana.
While hemp products are not allowed to contain more than a 0.3 percent concentration of delta-9 THC—anything higher is classified as marijuana—critics say the industry has exploited a loophole that set the 0.3 percent threshold for delta-9 THC but not other hemp derivatives.
The other products made from hemp still have the same look, feel and intoxicating effect as their potent siblings. The difference between hemp and marijuana is their THC content.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/01/thc-hemp-regulations-senate-bill-3-texas-house/.
The Texas Tribune, a non-partisan, member-supported newsroom that informs and engages Texans about state politics and policies. Visit texastribune.org to learn more.
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