Politics
Texas Lawmakers Weigh New Hemp Bills For Special Session, Including Already-Vetoed Ban On Products With Any Amount Of THC
As the Texas legislature convenes for a special session this week, members have so far introduced a number of bills that would address consumable hemp products.
Among the proposals are measures to require extensive product warning labels and to outlaw hemp products that contain any detectable amount of THC or most other cannabinoids—what one advocate called “an unholy resurrection” of a measure vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last month.
Abbott has specifically asked lawmakers to prioritize hemp regulatory issues during the special session that kicked off on Monday. The latest bills are HB 160 from Rep. Charlene Ward Johnson (D) and SB 5 from Sen. Charles Perry (R).
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 5, meanwhile, would set a blanket ban on products containing any “detectable amount of any cannabinoid” other than cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG), neither of which are considered intoxicating. That would prohibit even products that are legal under the federal definition of hemp.
The proposal essentially revives SB 3 from this year’s regular legislative session, which was passed by lawmakers but then vetoed by Abbott. It similarly would have barred products containing any detectable amount of THC or other cannabinoids.
The governor 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.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), meanwhile—who backed SB 3, the measure that would have outlawed nearly all hemp-derived products—has explicitly accused the governor of wanting to legalize adult-use cannabis because he rejected the hemp legislation.
Patrick on Monday reiterated his support for an all-out ban saying that “regulating THC for 21+ in TX is a backdoor way to legalize recreational marijuana. Law enforcement is against regulation & supports a full ban.”
Earlier this month, ahead of the special legislative session, Abbott urged lawmakers to prioritize two specific reforms.
One was aimed at preventing access by minors, “making it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to children under 21 years of age.”
The other, under the heading “regulate hemp-derived products,” requested a measure “to comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products, including limiting potency, restricting synthetically modified compounds, and establishing enforcement mechanisms, all without banning a lawful agricultural commodity.”
SB 5 instead appears to double down on the all-out ban.
Heather Fazio, a cannabis reform advocate and director of the Texas Cannabis Policy Center, criticized the renewed effort in an email to Marijuana Moment.
“It seems clear that the Senate is committed to empowering the illicit market by prohibiting the legal sale of THC,” she wrote. “They would prefer drug dealers profit rather than licensed and regulated businesses.”
“Worse,” Fazio added, “SB 5 criminalizes the possession of federally legal hemp products that have any amount of THC. This sets Texas on a path to needlessly arrest and prosecute tens of thousands of people.”
It would be a Class B misdemeanor under the proposal if a person “distributes, delivers, sells, purchases, possesses, or uses a consumable hemp product” that is not registered with the state and compliant with the strict standards. A Class B misdemeanor is punishable in the state by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
“If Senator Perry and Lt. Gov. Patrick were serious about restricting youth access,” Fazio said in her recent email, “they would institute age restrictions for THC products with penalties for anyone who sells to minors. That’s what we should be focused on, rather than re-criminalizing responsible adults who choose to enjoy THC.”
(Disclosure: Fazio supports Marijuana Moment’s work via a monthly Patreon pledge.)
Perry, the lawmaker sponsoring the ban legislation, did not respond to emails from Marijuana Moment seeking comment on Monday.
SB 5 is set to be heard in the Senate State Affairs Committee on Tuesday morning.
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. It would prevent the criminalization of someone found in possession of a product that’s labeled as hemp but is determined to contain “a controlled substance or marihuana.”
In order for the person to obtain the legal protection, the product would need to have been purchased “from a retailer the person reasonably believed was authorized to sell a consumable hemp product.”
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 lawmakers legalized the sale of consumable hemp in 2019, following enactment of the 2018 federal Farm Bill, which legalized the plant 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.
“Texans on each side of the Senate Bill 3 debate raise serious 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.
Part of the rationale behind his veto was the risk of litigation over “valid constitutional challenges” that he suggested would hold up in court. Multiple top Texas hemp companies had already filed a preemptive lawsuit challenging the legislation before the governor’s veto.
“If I were to allow Senate Bill 3 to become law, its enforcement would be enjoined for years, leaving existing abuses unaddressed,” Abbott said in his veto message. “Texas cannot afford to wait.”
Rather than face the possibility of having the law enjoined, or indefinitely delayed, the governor said the state “must enact a regulatory framework that protects public safety, aligns with federal law, has a fully funded enforcement structure, and can take effect without delay.”
Here’s the full list of the governor’s recommended hemp regulations noted in his veto message:
- Selling or providing a THC product to a minor must be punishable as a crime.
- Sales must be prohibited near schools, churches, parks, playgrounds, and other areas frequented by children.
- Packaging must be child-resistant, tamper-evident, and resealable;
- Products must not be made, packaged, or marketed in a manner attractive to children.
- Any store selling these products must have a permit and restrict access to anyone under the age of 21, with strict penalties for any retailer that fails to comply.
- Products containing THC may not contain other psychoactive substances (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, kratom).
- Testing must be required at every phase of production and manufacturing, including for both plants and derivative consumable products.
- Manufacturing and processing facilities must be subject to permitting and food safety rules.
- Permit and registration fees must suffice to support robust enforcement and testing by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, in partnership with other state agencies.
- An operator’s permit and warning/danger signs must be posted at any store selling these products.
- Sales must be limited to the hours between 10:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and prohibited on Sundays.
- The amount of THC permissible in each product must be restricted and an individual may make only a limited number of purchases in a given period of time.
- Labels must include a surgeon general-style warning, a clear disclosure of all ingredients, including the THC content, and a scannable barcode or QR code linking to test results.
- Fraudulently creating or displaying manifests or lab results must be punishable as felony offenses.
- Public consumption, consumption on the premises of any store that sells these products, and possession of an open container in a vehicle must be punishable as crimes.
- The Attorney General, district attorneys, and county attorneys must have authority to pursue violations under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
- Local governments must have the option to prohibit or limit stores selling these products.
- Excise taxes must be assessed on these products to fund oversight and enforcement.
- Additional funding must be provided to ensure law enforcement have sufficient resources to vigorously enforce restrictions.
“This list, of course, is not exhaustive. But it may provide items to consider in a regulatory system that is strict, fair, and legally sustainable,” Abbott said at the time. “Passing a law is not the same thing as actually solving a problem. Texas needs a bill that is enforceable and will make our communities safer today, rather than years from now. Next month, the Legislature will have the opportunity to address this serious issue. I look forward to working with them to ensure that we get it right.”
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. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop the psychedelic into a prescription drug with federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, with the state retaining a portion of the profit.
The measure expands the state’s list of medical cannabis qualifying conditions to include 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.
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.
