The party soon may be over for Texas’ rapidly expanding delta-8 industry.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who controls the agenda for the Texas Senate, said he’ll move next year to impose a statewide ban on sales of all THC-containing products, including those containing delta-8, which produces a high similar to that of pot.
In a statement released Wednesday night, Patrick said he’ll back a bill to impose the statewide ban when Texas’ new legislative session kicks off in January. That proposal is designated Senate Bill 3, and bills with low filing numbers usually take priority during the session.
Dispensaries and smoke shops selling THC-containing products have popped up statewide since the Texas Legislature passed a 2019 law legalizing the sale of consumable hemp. While aimed at creating new opportunities for Texas farmers, the measure also allowed an industry to spring up selling products with enhanced levels of THC, the compound in cannabis that creates a high.
“Dangerously, retailers exploited the agriculture law to sell life-threatening, unregulated forms of THC to the public and made them easily accessible,” Patrick said in his statement. “These stores not only sold to adults, but they targeted Texas children and exposed them to dangerous levels of THC. Since 2023, thousands of stores selling hazardous THC products have popped up in communities across the state, and many sell products, including beverages, that have three to four times the THC content which might be found in marijuana purchased from a drug
dealer.”
Most in the state’s hemp industry predicted the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature will move to impose new regulations during its 2025 session. However, questions remain whether most lawmakers want an outright ban or simply new rules requiring testing of hemp and reining in their potency and sale to minors.
Industry officials have pledged to lobby against a ban, arguing that it would decimate a growing business that creates jobs and contributes millions to the state’s economy. It’s unclear whether hemp retailers will have a receptive ear in a GOP-controlled legislature that’s continued to move further to the right.
Recreational cannabis is still illegal in Texas, and the state’s medical marijuana program — which Patrick has also tried to stymie — is among the nation’s most restrictive.
Many Texans who use delta-8 products maintain that they do so because of the THC-potency restrictions under the state’s medical pot law. They maintain that those restrictions make the products too expensive and also limit their ability to deal with conditions such as chronic pain.
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This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2024.
