Texas is One Step Closer to Banning THC – Here’s What That Might Look Like

By Gracie Kirschner

Reporting Texas

The Texas Senate passed a statewide ban on March 19 on all forms of THC, the primary psychoactive compound found in cannabis or marijuana. Senate Bill 3 was named one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority bills for this session and aims to crack down on the state’s booming consumable hemp market. 

This comes after Texas lawmakers legalized the commercialization of hemp in 2019 by passing legislation that allowed products with THC levels under 0.3% to be sold in Texas. But, Patrick contends that retailers have abused the law by using loopholes to market products with levels of THC above the legal threshold, especially to minors. 

This bill aims to ease those concerns by prohibiting the sale of consumable hemp products to minors under 21. It also limits hemp sales to only pure CBD and CBG products and requires those products to be labeled appropriately and placed in tamper-evident, child-resistant and resealable packaging. On top of that, the bill creates new criminal offenses to prevent the sale of illegal products in Texas. 

According to Dr. Tim Stevenson, the deputy commissioner for Consumer Protection for the Department of State Health Services, there are currently 740 licensed manufacturers of THC and 5,043 retail registrants with more than 8,000 locations throughout the state. 

The Texas Senate passed a statewide ban on March 19 on all forms of THC Mark Bordas, the Executive Director of the Texas Hemp Council, says the economic impact of the bill would be detrimental. 

“It would be a $7.5 billion negative impact to the economy, and we would lose just over 40,000 jobs. I almost think that it would be the more dire consequences. I think the entire industry would be wiped out,” Bordas said. 

For business owners like Oz Millman at Green Herbal Care, a hemp THC dispensary with multiple locations throughout Austin, the passing of Senate Bill 3 means starting over. 

“It will be very hard to lose everything we built in six years, all the community, all the customers,” Millman said. 

Millman, an immigrant to the U.S. from Israel, chose to build a career in Texas because of its business-friendly nature. He’s always been passionate about the hemp industry after learning of its health benefits and says it’s sad to see that Texas is deviating from its principles and putting restrictions on both business and personal freedoms. 

“If it’s going to pass… I will probably have to explore other states, and it’s very sad to me.”

Millman isn’t the only one feeling the impact. At Happy Cactus, another Austin THC shop, the law would leave only one product on the shelves, WYLD CBD Gummies. 

“It is the only product we have in our shop that is completely THC-free. That’s about 1% of our business,” said Todd and Mickey Harris, the co-owners of Happy Cactus.

Before the Senate vote, the bill’s author, Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said saving Texans from the potential addiction and behavioral health issues caused by synthetic THC products outweighs the revenue the industry brings to the state. Perry previously carried the 2019 agricultural bill that passed the hemp THC threshold.

“Some of the hemp shops may go out of business, but they brought this on themselves,” he said.

Business owners and industry advocates believe there’s a middle ground that can save businesses and further protect consumers, regulation instead of elimination.

“In all probability, the people that are selling this stuff aren’t taking the time to get regulated, and they’re not testing their product. They don’t care about the consumer; they care about making a quick buck. And so I think we both have similar intent, and that’s to clean up the industry. One side wants to eliminate it, our side wants to regulate it,” Bordas said.

In a committee hearing before the bill’s passing, Sen. Perry said that regulation isn’t an option and the industry is too far gone.

“We’ve tried to let the industry regulate itself… they’ve proved they can’t, they don’t want to and won’t. It’s time to fix it,” he said.

But, business owners aren’t backing down from the fight. 

“We’re willing to fight as much as we can to keep this industry booming here in Texas,” said Harris. 

SB3 passed 24-7 in the Senate but may face a tougher time passing in the House. Despite this, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will stop at nothing to get it passed. He told the Texas Tribune he plans to force a special session of the Texas Legislature if the THC ban doesn’t become law. He also said he plans to do the same if the Senate measures on bail reform aren’t passed. But, bail reform is also one of Abbott’s priorities while banning THC sales is not.

Although the Texas constitution only gives Gov. Greg Abbott the power to call a special session, Patrick can control the agenda by withholding Abbott’s priority bills from the Senate floor. Both of these bills have been passed through the Senate, while the Texas House just passed its first bills of the session on Tuesday.