‘There’s no education’: Gatesville woman aims to change the conversation around hemp products

GATESVILLE, Texas (KXXV) — Smoke shops selling hemp products are becoming a common sight in communities across the country, but one local woman in Gatesville is hoping to shift the conversation.

“I would like to open a wellness shop just so we can have the opportunity to enhance the community with natural foods, organic supplements, things like that to do preventative care for long-term health,” Amanda Ashby said.

While her vision aims to foster education and improve community health, it comes amid growing concern over the increasing number of smoke shops in Texas selling hemp products with varying THC concentrations.

Ashby said that the lack of education in many of these stores is leading to those concerns.

“If we could only get the [vape] shops to quit saturating it all, they have no education on what they’re selling. There’s no education behind it, so therefore the people that need it, they don’t even want to walk in the shops,” Ashby said.

The debate over the sale of consumable hemp products has sparked controversy after the Texas Senate legalized their sale in 2019 as part of an effort to boost the state’s agriculture industry.

However, some lawmakers are now calling for a ban, arguing that retailers have exploited the law by selling products containing dangerously high levels of THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

Now, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has voiced support for a statewide ban on all THC products.

“Please do not take away the hemp, the CBD – we need it,” Ashby said.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the state’s legislative stance, Ashby is determined to move forward with her wellness-focused store. She believes that better education, access, and regulation are the keys to addressing product safety and consumer awareness concerns.

“We need a spot where we can go, a community hub, where everybody’s focused on health and wellness, and you can go in and get the supplements you would normally order online because we don’t have access here in town besides your local drugstores,” Ashby said.

The legislature is set to resume its session Tuesday, January 14.

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