Allen Police Chief Steve Dye is taking his battle against illegal hemp products to state lawmakers, arguing earlier this week before a Senate committee that communities like his need help to combat what he called a “prolific problem.”
Dye, speaking on behalf of his department and the Texas Police Chiefs Association, described the hemp-based products as a “plague,” and asked for measures that would make it easier for local law enforcement to prosecute cases.
Dye and others who oppose the sale of hemp products that contain illegal levels of THC — the component that produces the “high” in marijuana — argue that retailers are using a gray area in state law to advertise and sell products that have THC levels akin to marijuana.
A bill now wending through the Legislature seeks to ban the sale of all consumable hemp products that contain illegal levels of THC. It would also ban the sale of hemp products to people under 21.
The merchandise under scrutiny are derived from cannabis plants classified as “hemp,” which are supposed to have less THC potency. Hemp and marijuana are variants of the same plant species, Cannabis sativa.
Hemp-based products have to be certified that they contain less than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol — better known as THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. That’s the level specified by the federal government.
Often marketed as “THCa” or “delta 8,” products are easily found at vape shops and gas stations across the state. There are no state age limits for consumable or smokeable hemp products.
Allen police raided nine of the nearly two dozen vape shops in the city last year and confiscated some merchandise advertised as legal hemp. Government testing showed THC levels between 7% to 78% — many times the legal limit – but shop owners dispute those findings. Police also accused stores of knowingly selling the products to teens.
In September, the Allen City Council approved new rules outlawing minors from entering smoke shops without their parent or legal guardian and limited where smoke shops can operate in the city.
Dye and the city are currently being sued by one of the six people arrested in the August raids. in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas.
David Sergi, who is representing the shop owner suing Allen officials, said the businesses targeted in August were operating legally. Testing methods used by authorities “can make a legal sample look illegal,” said Sergi, who also testified at the hearing.
While he personally supports age restrictions on hemp-products, Sergi said the other impacts of SB 3 would “devastate the industry” and his client’s livelihood.
The chief told the state affairs committee he supports SB 3, but added that he doesn’t think the bill goes far enough.
Among Dye’s requests to lawmakers were adding requirements for retailers to have products certified by a state-certified lab rather than an outside third party. Dye asked for a “definitive statute” to allow for “departments to make arrests and seizures without the need to test products.”
Dye said he loves the intent of the law, but asked for more measures that would put the onus of testing samples on retailers, rather than state or local authorities.
Opponents of the bill say the products under attack are compliant with House Bill 1325, signed into law in 2019. The bill legalized the retail sale of “consumable hemp products which contain cannabidiol (CBD), as well as other edible parts of the hemp plant,” according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.
They argue that Senate Bill 3, if passed, could put tens of thousands of people out of work, and axe millions of dollars in sales tax revenues each year.
