Texas legislators took up on Wednesday a bill that would prohibit consumable hemp-based products with THC. The bill is not expected to be passed during the ongoing special session, despite the fact that the hearing was held. This is because Democratic lawmakers in the state continue to prevent the House from having a majority to vote on any legislation due to a disagreement over redistricting.
The House Bill, an identical hemp proposal that was passed by the Senate, has been discussed in a long meeting of the House Public Health Committee. This committee is still able to do business, even though there’s no quorum. The Governor has warned that absent Democratic Members will be prosecuted or dismissed, but the walkout is not showing signs of abating.
Governor Abbott’s special session is on a tight schedule. Greg Abbott, a Republican from Texas, convened the special session in order to deal with a number of issues that were still outstanding. This included legislation related hemp cannabinoid-based products. Abbott has vetoed a controversial bill that was passed in this year’s session. He recently stated what he would like to see included in the revised version.
Governor and legislative leaders confirmed that, in the event Democrats don’t arrive and form a majority by Friday, then they would end and begin a new special session. The state constitution limits special sessions to 30 days. But there’s no limit on the number of them.
Rep. Gary VanDeaver gave an overview of Texas hemp laws at Wednesday’s meeting. The state legislature’s intention, when it first allowed hemp in response to federal legislation, was “to open a new agricultural market for Texas Farmers because hemp can be a viable crop.”
He said that the original intention of the bill was not achieved. The bill’s original intent was not realized, he said.
Ahead of the committee hearing, Heather Fazio, director of the advocacy group Texas Cannabis Policy Center, submitted written testimony stating that the proposed legislation “doubles down on failed policies of the past—policies that cause real harm and waste public resources.”
“We all agree that the gaps in our current regulatory framework must be filled.” But the problem is not legal hemp—it’s the lack of regulatory enforcement,” she said. She said: “Without adequate oversight, bad actors are able to slip through. It doesn’t have to stay this way. Accountability is critical—and it should come through administrative enforcement, including fines, license revocation, and product recalls, not criminalization.”
“Texans deserve safe, legal access to hemp products—not arrests and criminal records,” Fazio said. Let’s not ban hemp products, but instead regulate it intelligently.
Disclosure: Fazio is a monthly Patreon contributor to MEDCAN24.
John Harloe, general counsel at Village Farms International, said in a statement to MEDCAN24 that “Texas has the opportunity to do this right and regulate thoughtfully.”
The Texas House is willing to listen, learn and understand. They are also doing the right thing for millions of Texans that want hemp products which are safe and well-regulated.
Paige Figi said that SB 5 was a death penalty for her daughter who was a major force in Texas in enacting CBD-access legislation.
“It’s dangerously wrong—and it puts lives at risk,” she said.
Stephanie Fokas is another parent whose child has epilepsy and benefits from cannabis. She stated in written testimony, that the hemp THC legislation “doesn’t allow full spectrum CBD.”
“This bill is not regulation—it is a ban. Ban on a product which keeps my son’s life. She said, “A ban on the non-intoxicating medicines that have given thousands of Texans hope, relief and stability,” “You don’t protect kids by banning what works—you protect them by regulating what doesn’t. Texans deserve smart regulation, not blanket bans. Please do not take it away.”
Mitch Fuller, Texas’ branch of Veterans of Foreign Wars(VFW), also spoke out against the bill. The proposed ban on hemp would prevent veterans from accessing “effective, affordable, and accessible alternatives to opioids and antidepressants, which many veterans including myself used for pain management and PTSD.”
This issue ultimately is about our freedom, and he wants to free us of alcohol and opioids. “We defended the country and fought in foreign soil to defend freedom and liberty.”
Steve Dye spoke on behalf of the Texas Police Chiefs Association in support of hemp THC. He said that “a voting for regulation means 100 percent legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Texas.”
It’s a difficult decision for some. As you look at the facts, it becomes a simple decision. And committee members, he believes we are now in a decisive moment. Are we going to say to our children that we fought to ensure their safety, health and prosperity? Were we willing to allow hemp to make billions in profits, many of which went outside our borders?
Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne is the President of the Sheriffs Association of Texas. He echoed some of the same points as the Police Chief, saying, “we cannot pursue every single attempt at regulating individual products or compounds in every legislative session. The illicit drug producers are always more flexible than the legal process.”
“Make no mistake: The recreational marijuana market—the market that some members and state leaders aspire to regulate—is infiltrated by organized crime,” he said. This is the reason we think THC regulation won’t work.
At the conclusion of an 11-hour long hearing, no decision was made on the proposed bill.
We thank all those who testified. VanDeaver, chair of the committee, told the group that they had heard them. We will consider your comments.
This ongoing Democratic walkout has nothing to do with hemp legislation. Democrats have left Washington to block the House’s passage of a law that will create 5 districts that are Republican-leaning by dividing the existing districts into urban areas with Democratic leanings.
However, the proposal on hemp remains controversial. Some, like Lt. Dan Patrick, R. and Charles Perry (R.), the Senate bill sponsor who sponsored the ban in the Senate, insist an outright banning is essential for public safety to eliminate the intoxicating substances that have proliferated in the state since it was legalized federally in 2018. Other people say it is better to regulate the market in order to keep youth out of the industry while allowing older adults to still access these products.
At a press conference last month, a group of Democratic state senators introduced two new cannabis-related bills, including one that would regulate the hemp market, allowing adults 21 and older to purchase hemp products containing no more than 5 mg of THC per serving.
The second bill effectively legalizes cannabis for adults. It would remove criminal penalties if you have up to two ounces or 10 ounces hidden away in your home and if the marijuana is kept out of view and secured. It would also legalize the cultivation of up to 6 plants. Only half of them could be mature.
In addition to vetoing a similar ban on hemp products, SB 3 during this year’s state legislative regular session, the governor has also supported the idea that THC levels should be limited and sales of the product must not go through minors, rather than banning the entire item.
Under the current Senate-passed proposal, consumable hemp products with any amount of THC—or any other cannabinoid besides CBD and CBG—would be illegal. Just the mere possession of hemp products would result in a Class A misdemeanor punishable with up to 180 jail days and a fine of $2,000, or even worse.
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.
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Meanwhile, 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.
Texas officials took an initial step towards implementing this law. The Department of Public Safety recently released proposed rules that would significantly increase the licensed number of dispensaries.
Separately, 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 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 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 and without testing.”
Ahead of the governor’s veto in June 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.
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