Texas Lt.gov. Dan Patrick ranked the legislation to ban any consumable product containing THC in its top 25 priorities to be passed by the Senate during this year.
Patrick announced Senate Bill 3 in December. It would repeal certain parts of House Bill 13025 that the Texas Legislature had passed in 2019. This bill authorized the production, manufacture, retail sale, and inspection of industrial products and hemp plants following federal hemp legalization in 2018 Farm Bill.
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The lieutenant governor claims that since 2023 there have been “thousands”, if not “millions” of retail stores selling THC-containing “hazardous” goods in the Lone Star State.
Patrick stated in a statement that retailers were exploiting the Agriculture Law to make life-threatening forms of THC easily available to the public. These stores did not just sell to adults but also exposed Texas children to high levels of THC.
S.B. 3 will be carried by Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock). The bill had not yet been officially filed by the time Patrick announced his list of 25 top priority bills in January. Prior to the THC law, the only bill listed was the State Budget (S.B. S.B. 2).
Patrick is president of the Senate. He has served in the position as lieutenant Governor since 2015. Texas senators present thousands of legislation each legislative session. However, bills with lower numbers have higher chances of passing.
Patrick told reporters on Wednesday, “These bills are the result of a conservative majority in Texas and will receive bipartisan approval for many.” He also stated that, while he is anticipating broad bipartisan backing for S.B. He can “trust that the House, too, will see the dangers of these products.”
As Texas’ medical cannabis law limits physicians to prescribing low-THC cannabis or cannabis derivatives capped at 1% THC under the state’s Compassionate Use Program—one of the most restrictive programs in the country—hemp-derived products containing delta-8 or delta-9 THC have become increasingly popular in recent years.
Patrick claimed that the retailers selling hemp-derived products containing cannabinoids were violating Texas law and putting Texans “lives in peril.”
According to the Texas Agriculture Code (TAC), hemp is defined by its weight as cannabis plants or their derivatives that contain less than 0.3% of THC. This means a gummy weighing 10 grams could be infused with a high amount of THC, up to 300 milligrams, and still remain below 0.3%.
Sid Miller of Texas’ Agriculture Department wrote that “thanks to generous interpretations and loose language, a recreational marijuana market has sprouted up in Texas.”
Miller stated that hemp products unregulated containing cannabinoids intoxicating are only intended to “intoxicate.” He added that he supports Patrick’s call for legislation.
The commissioner said, “I’ve received many messages asking me not to support Dan Patrick in his efforts to curb the unsafe and unregulated market I described.” “I won’t. This is not how law works. “The lieutenant-governor is correct to take on these often unregulated, illegal businesses.”
Jeff Barry, R, Brazoria State Representative in Texas said that although Patrick stated he only could “trust” House legislators to follow Senate rules, he agreed with the proposal of the lieutenant-governor’s THC prohibition. Fox 7 reported.
“It kind of goes back to the old adage, ‘Give them an inch; They take a mile,'” Barry told the news outlet. Never underestimate the creativeness of the Texas businessman. “We just have to, once again, rein it back in and really understand how retail operations affect the children in our community and be sure we protect them.”
Some experts and leaders of state, however, believe that the ban on THC proposed by the lieutenant Governor would go far enough. Many who built their businesses on the current status quo warned legislators about the consequences of prohibition.
Lukas Gilkey said, in May 2024, that “excessive laws” or any prohibitions on hemp-derived cannabis would hurt an industry which has an annual economic impact of $1.6billion, and pays more than $50,000 workers.
Gilkey also founded the Texas Hemp Business Council (a non-profit trade association that promotes and protects hemp-derived products) in the Lone Star State. Gilkey, who was a founding member of the council in part because Patrick declared that hemp-derived compounds were on his ‘hit list,’ helped to found it.
“Millions of Americans, including an ever-growing number of veterans, many [of] whom live here in our home state, choose these products as part of their daily lifestyles, while others may rely on them as alternatives to marijuana, opioids and other pharmaceuticals,” Gilkey said.
Gilkey called for assistance in preserving Texas’ cannabinoid-hemp industry at a time when more than 750 licensed Texan growers cultivate more than 3,000 acres, helping to create or expand over 5,000 businesses within the state.
In place of prohibition, three policy positions are supported by the Council:
- Age Limitation to 21+
- Veteran parents and veterans who use hemp as a product for their children can receive a tax exemption
- Children Resistant Packaging
- Backwards Setbacks for Schools
- There will be no adult hemp products sold within 1,000 feet from schools. Existing registered businesses are grandfathered.
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