On Wednesday, supporters of reining-in the unregulated, intoxicating, hemp industry of Texas released new polling results showing that a majority of respondents, from both major parties, support banning synthetic cannabinoids such as delta-8THC and prefer to obtain therapeutic cannabis through a licensed medical marijuana program rather than a smoke shop selling “unregulated, untested hemp”.
A new survey is being conducted as legislators, convened in a special legislative meeting this week, consider banning hemp products, even if they contain trace amounts of THC, and the majority of other cannabinoids. The move comes after a similar bill was vetoed by Governor. Greg Abbott (R) last month.
Baselice and Associates conducted a survey in June that found 68 per cent of Texas voters to be for a total ban on lab-made or synthetic THC. Of those, 78percent of Republicans and 56percent of Democrats, and 66percent of Independents, are also supportive.
Respondents were asked, “California, Arkansas and Colorado have outlawed synthetic or lab-produced THC”—with some respondents also told that Congress is considering a ban—”Should Texas outlaw synthetic THC?”
The second hypothetical is: “If I wanted something with THC for chronic pain or PTSD (or some other illness), would I rather buy it from a state-regulated medical marijuana program that requires a doctor’s prescription, OR from a smokeshop selling unregulated and nontested hemp?”
Among all respondents—600 people in total—72 percent said they would prefer a regulated program, 16 percent said they’d rather go to a smoke shop and 12 percent said they were unsure.
According to their political affiliation, 79 per cent of GOP respondents said that they supported regulated medical cannabis dispensaries. This was followed by 72 percent for Democrats, and 63percent of independents.
A press release containing the poll circulated Wednesday as part of the news conference held at the Texas Capitol by Sen. Roland Gutierrez, (D), and Texas Original, a state-licensed medical marijuana company. Texas Original didn’t immediately answer a question by MEDCAN24 asking who commissioned this poll.
The new polling numbers were not discussed at the Wednesday press event, but a few charts behind the speakers included Nico Richardson (CEO of Texas Original), Gutierrez and TCUP-registered patients and doctors.
Gutierrez said at the event that he personally has “always been for a fully regulated—regulated—medical marijuana program and recreational program like we have seen in Colorado, California, Washington State” and others, but he argued that “in order to do that, we have to take the appropriate steps” to regulate or ban synthetic hemp products and halt their availability to minors.
He said that people at home should be made aware of the fact that this product has no age restriction. It is not right that a 14-year-old can purchase a vape in a convenience shop.
The Senator continued, “All of science shows that the 14 year-old child is not prepared to have cannabis introduced into his body.” “We need to be better.” We need to do better.
The press conference took place just one day after the Senate Committee advanced SB 5 to ban the possession, sale, and any other activities around hemp products that contain any detectable amounts of THC, or other cannabinoids besides CBD or CBG. However, neither the speaker nor the audience mentioned this measure, or called specifically for its passage.
Gutierrez noted during a Q&A session that he voted in favor of SB 3, the hemp ban bill that lawmakers passed during the regular session and was later vetoed by the governor, but he claimed that was because he saw the measure as part of a tradeoff in exchange for expanding the state’s limited medical marijuana program, TCUP, through a separate bill that Abbott ultimately signed into law.
He added, “We must do more for this program.” “We need to continue the expansion of TCUP and continue to find a…pathway for a completely regulated system—a tiered, regulated system like we have for alcohol.”
Regardless, he repeatedly emphasized that he felt the current situation—in which intoxicating hemp-derived products are widely available in the state—is unworkable.
“To do nothing, which is where we were when this veto began,” Gutierrez said, “is not a tenable situation for the youth of the state of Texas… We cannot have 13-year-old boys, 16-year-old girls, you name it, accessing cannabis with impunity.”
He acknowledged that “this might seem strange coming from a guy who always wanted marijuana legalized,” but we have to act responsibly and appropriately.
Richardson, Texas Original’s CEO, said at the Wednesday press conference that TCUP is “highly regulated” and therefore, doctors and immunocompromised patient can be confident of the product’s potency and purity.
The Texas medical marijuana program has strict rules, according to Mr. Smith. Operators must have surveillance and badge access systems, store inventory in secure steel cages, obtain a license, perform background checks for all staff, and submit themselves to inspections by the state. Products are also required to be registered before they can be made available to patients.
Richardson explained that hemp-derived THC does not have to comply with any of the rules I listed above, even though the majority of hemp products currently sold in Texas are more potent then what is allowed for sale as TCUP medication.
Richardson, and others, said that hemp products untested and unregulated undercut medical marijuana licensed by putting the patients’ health at risk.
The CEO stated that “no one should be shocked” by the fact that a medical program heavily regulated cannot compete with a recreational program underregulated, which sells the same products or even more.
Abbott appeared to have revised his position on this matter as lawmakers debate whether they should regulate or outright ban intoxicating hemp goods. He appears to be calling for regulated adult access to items containing low THC.
In response to a question about this proposal, the local governor said he was “for doing what we can in order to protect our children’s lives, as well as protecting adults’ freedom.”
“So the structure of what I’m looking for is this, and that is, we must continue to criminalize marijuana in the state of Texas—no change in the marijuana laws,” he said. He said that THC as well as products made from hemp should be banned for children younger than 21. We do not want children to be exposed.
The governor added that “synthetics” that were laced on hemp products are dangerous and the state should ban them. Once these safeguards have been put in place, the Governor said that “we will need a tightly regulated hemp sector to make sure that the farmers can grow hemp and the hemp products are not laced with THC that is intoxicating.”
Abbott’s definition for what THC limit he would be happy with is confusing. He said that there should either be “three milligrams” or a cap of “three percent”. This difference makes a significant impact. SB 5, on the other hand, would prohibit products with any quantifiable amount of THC or most other cannabinoids—explicitly exempting CBD and CBG from the ban, but industry stakeholders say that’s logistically unfeasible and would decimate the market.
“To be clear, with regard to adults—again, with minors, no access to it at all. “We want THC levels to be lower than 3 percent for adults. Or we are doing it by milligrams. It’s three milligrams THC. This is called non-intoxicating level of hemp,” said he.
Abbot further said that “every law enforcement official I’ve talked to has said the same thing, and that is, they don’t have the resources to regulate it… If they’re measuring the hemp product not based upon the current methodology, 0.3 percent THC, but on the milligram basis, it’s a whole lot easier to be able to measure it.”
Again, that’s not quite what SB 5 would accomplish—and stakeholders are voicing concern about the expedited legislative process that it’s moving through, urging supporters to contact their representatives and ask them to oppose the legislation.
Heather Fazio from the Texas Cannabis Policy Center stated in an alert that the Senate State Affairs committee had unanimously approved SB 5 – advancing it to the Texas Senate to vote on.
She also said the Senate would meet Thursday to “vote on SB 5.” She added, however, that “once it reaches the House of Representatives, they are more likely to support regulation.”
(Disclosure: Fazio supports MEDCAN24’s work via a monthly Patreon pledge.)
Separately a spokesperson from the Governor issued a press release that was largely in line with the description Abbott gave during the interview.
Governor Abbott made it clear that Texas should do everything possible to safeguard the safety of children, while also protecting adults’ rights. “Hemp products must be restricted for people under 21, and all synthetics should also be outlawed,” the group said. Adults should have access to hemp in non-intoxicating amounts that are heavily regulated. There should also be strict enforcement for hemp products with more than 3.0 milligrams of total THC. The Governor and the Legislature will work together to create a framework which meets these goals.
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In their responses to the senators who asked questions at Tuesday’s Senate hearing, law enforcement representatives said that, instead of trying to regulate hemp products, they support a complete ban. Some later added, however, that they felt the state’s limited medical marijuana program, known as the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), should be expanded to ease access by patients—especially military veterans—who could benefit from therapeutic cannabis.
Notably, 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.
SB 5 is among a small handful of bills introduced for the new special session to address consumable hemp products.
Other proposals include requiring extensive warning labels on products and limiting how hemp-based products are packaged.
Abbott has specifically asked lawmakers to prioritize hemp regulatory issues during the special session that kicked off on Monday. HB 160 by Rep. Charlene Johnson (D), and SB 39 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, both Democrats, are two other bills that have been introduced.
The former would require a number of warning labels to be carried on hemp products with any more than trace amounts of THC, cautioning that the products can cause “cannabis poisoning that can be life-threatening to children,” harm brain development in youth, increase “risk of mental disorders like psychosis and schizophrenia” and lead to anxiety, depression and substance abuse disorders.
SB 39 prohibits packaging and marketing of hemp products in a “manner attractive to children”. This would include packaging with human, animal, cartoon, fruit or other shapes that may be attractive to kids. It also limits packaging that resembles legal products that already target children such as candy or juice. This bill also bans misleading packaging. The violation would constitute a misdemeanor of Class A, punishable by up to one year in prison and $4,000 in fines.
Separately, last week 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.
For the purchaser to be entitled to legal protection the hemp-based product must have been bought “from an authorized retailer that the buyer reasonably believed to be authorized to sell consumable hemp products.”
The governor also said last month that rather than ban consumable hemp products outright, he wants to see lawmakers establish a regulatory framework that treats cannabinoids “similar to the way alcohol is regulated.”
The current SB 5 does not appear to include this provision.
Ahead of the governor’s recent veto of SB 3, hemp advocates and stakeholders had delivered more than 100,000 petition signatures asking Abbott to reject the measure. Critics of the bill argued that the industry—which employs an estimated 53,000 people—would be decimated if the measure became law.
Texas legislators legalized hemp consumption in 2019 following the passage of the federal Farm Bill of 2018, which made the plant legal nationwide. That led to an explosion of products—including edibles, drinks, vape products and cured flower—now sold by an estimated 8,000 retailers.
Military veterans advocates, including Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars, also called on the governor to veto the hemp ban, saying it “would cause irreversible harm to communities across the state.”
Farmers said the prohibition would devastate a key sector of the state’s agriculture industry.
Following his veto, Abbott proposed an extensive list of policy changes that he said he would support—and which the legislature will have the chance to enact during the special session.
Both sides of the Senate Bill 3 discussion raise grave concerns. But one thing is clear—to ensure the highest level of safety for minors, as well as for adults, who obtain a product more dangerous than what they expected, Texas must strongly regulate hemp, and it must do so immediately,Abbott said.
He cited the potential for litigation regarding “valid constitutional issues” that would stand up in court as a reason behind his veto. Before the governor’s decision, multiple top Texas hemp firms had already sued to challenge the legislation.
Abbott’s veto letter stated: “If I allow Senate Bill 3 into law, the enforcement of it would be prohibited for many years. This will leave existing abuses unaddressed.” Texas cannot wait.
The governor stated that the state should not risk having its law suspended or delayed indefinitely. Instead, it “must adopt a regulatory structure which protects the public’s safety and is aligned with federal law. It must also have a fully-funded enforcement system, so the framework can be implemented immediately.”
Meanwhile, a recent survey from a GOP pollster affiliated with President Donald Trump showed that Texas Democratic and Republican voters are unified in their opposition to the hemp ban bill.
Another poll commissioned the Texas Hemp Business Council (THBC) found that Texas Republican primary voters oppose the proposal.
Last month, the governor signed bill to significantly expand the state’s medical marijuana program with new qualifying conditions additional product forms and more dispensary locations.
Abbott separately signed a bill into law to create a state-backed research consortium to conduct clinical trials on ibogaine as a possible treatment for substance use disorders and other mental health conditions. Project’s ultimate goal is to turn the psychedelic drug into a prescribed medication with FDA approval and the state keeping a share of profits.
This measure allows patients receiving palliative care or hospice to be treated with marijuana. It also expands the list of qualifying medical conditions for cannabis to include Crohn’s, TBI, chronic pain and inflammatory bowel disease.
Separately in Texas, a House committee approved a Senate-passed bill in May that would prohibit cities from putting any citizen initiative on local ballots that would decriminalize marijuana or other controlled substances—as several localities have already done despite lawsuits from the state attorney general.
Under the proposal, state law would be amended to say that local entities “may not place an item on a ballot, including a municipal charter or charter amendment, that would provide that the local entity will not fully enforce” state drug laws.
While several courts have previously upheld local cannabis decriminalization laws, an appellate court comprised of three conservative justices appointed by the governor has recently pushed back against two of those rulings, siding with the state in its legal challenge to the marijuana policy in Austin and San Marcos.
Despite the ongoing litigation and advancement of the House and Senate bills, Texas activists have their targets set on yet another city, Kyle, where they hope put an initiative before voters to enact local marijuana reform at the ballot this coming November.
A recent poll found that four in five Texas voters want to see marijuana legalized in some form, and most also want to see regulations around cannabis relaxed.
Below you can read the complete press release, which includes the latest poll results from the event on Wednesday.
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