The war against cannabis and intoxicating hemp products is raging on, and it could signal trouble for the cannabis industry in Texas.
States where marijuana is legal both recreationally and medically like California are starting to hone in on “intoxicating” hemp products. Here in Texas, cannabis products with no more than .3% delta-9 THC are currently considered hemp, and are technically legal to use. But recent raids in cities like Allen, Texas, have put a touch of fear into the hearts of cannabis businesses and consumers alike.
To get an idea of how those working to push Texas’ cannabis industry forward feel about the current state of affairs and what’s to come, LoneStarLive.com spoke with Heather Fazio, the founding board member of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, which is hosting the Texas Cannabis Policy Conference at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, from Thursday, Sept. 12, through Saturday, Sept. 14.
Here’s what Fazio had to say.
This interview has been condensed for clarity and length.
Question: The cannabis industry in Texas appears to have entered uncharted waters, and regulations seem to be getting increasingly murky for cannabis business owners and consumers. How do you feel about the current state of affairs involving cannabis in Texas?
Answer: Well, overall, it’s a good thing that we have cannabis products available for people to enjoy and consume — that this market is moving and making its way into the light of day. Where it’s Texans that are running legitimate businesses that are accountable to their communities, to their consumers, and to the regulatory infrastructure rather than having the illicit market manage the supply. That’s a really good thing.
And it’s a good thing that those who enjoy these products, whether it’s for adult-use recreational purposes, or if they are using it medicinally, it’s wonderful that they have access to these products. And overall, the fact that we are moving forward with fewer people being arrested. We’ve seen numbers plummeting over the last, well, over the last decade, but especially in the last five years.
When we started doing this work, there were nearly 75,000 people arrested every year just in Texas for simple possession of marijuana. Not trafficking, not distribution, but the simple possession of this substance that we know to be objectively safer than alcohol. And over the years, especially the last five, as I mentioned, we’ve seen that plummeting down to about 20,000 people being arrested. That’s a big improvement. That’s a relief to our criminal justice system.
Q: The hemp industry in Texas feels largely unregulated by the state on purpose, or that’s how some people view it. And it leaves this window of opportunity open for law enforcement to step in and shut things down. The recent raids that occurred in Allen, Texas, are a great example of this. How do you think that those raids will impact the cannabis industry in Texas moving forward? Do you see the state rallying behind regulations the industry wants, or do you see them moving toward an all-THC ban even though they already opened Pandora’s box?
A: Can you imagine? You can’t put 7,000 screaming cats back in a bag. You just can’t do that. The most reasonable approach would be to effectively regulate this market. … First of all, there’s going to be public outrage that they’ll have to deal with. But then also, just the practical implications mean that all of these products go to the illicit market because you can still just have it shipped right to your house.
All it means is that business owners that they can regulate will be put out of business and putting all that market into the hands of online shops, where it could be anything. And it’ll be back into the illicit market where people are just selling it. I mean, it is so impractical to think that they could ban these products again.
The best approach in the interest of public health and safety is to regulate cannabis products, whether it’s the medical program, or it’s this adult-use cannabis industry that we have now that we call the hemp industry. But it is adult-use products that are being sold without age restrictions, without packaging requirements, (and) no advertising standards. These are the types of things that we really would have wanted to see put in place at first. But, you know, to be perfectly honest, when we established the hemp program in Texas, delta-8, THC, THCo, THCa, none of this was on anyone’s radar.
We’re going through these growing pains right now, and it’s unique because other states have not taken this path. And so we have a real opportunity here to try to unite the different stakeholders, find the different areas of agreement, and hopefully work to implore lawmakers to make the most reasonable decision this legislative session. Let’s start, let’s at least get some reasonable regulations put on the books for this hemp industry. And then let’s also, if we can, during the same session, look at this from a big-picture perspective.
Q: Since Texans cannot get marijuana on the statewide ballot, do you think there’s a path forward that leads to marijuana legalization for recreational adult use in Texas if voters can’t get the measure on the ballot at the state level?
A: It’s really tough. And even when you put it on the ballot, there’s still a lot of challenges you have to overcome with getting that language right, getting the Legislature to actually follow through with the intent of the ballot. How many rounds of legislative sessions does it take to actually fulfill the intent of that ballot initiative? So it’s not really a silver bullet, but it would more accurately reflect the values of the people of Texas on this issue, that’s for sure.
But getting lawmakers to take that next step has been very difficult. But we’ve been able to, thankfully, because of the personal stories from patients, from doctors, the professional experience from attorneys, from law enforcement, getting people down to the Capitol to help them understand that this isn’t an issue that they need to be scared of. This is an issue that is not something to be joked about. If you want to make a pot brownie joke, OK.
But let’s also have a meaningful conversation about how these policies are failing our state and families across the country. I mean, how many people that are saddled with a criminal record, don’t have the resources they need to be able to raise their family, to be able to earn a living? And it’s because of a criminal record that was totally unnecessary.
And I’ll tell you this … the (Texas) Senate is already further along on actually passing legislation than they ever have been. They had that interim hearing. They’ve tasked the State Affairs Committee, a very serious state committee, with creating recommendations. And I believe that there will be a bill that comes out of that committee. And our goal is to influence it in a way that helps to put all of our recommendations in place. Age restrictions, packaging standards and advertising requirements, you know, testing requirements.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
A: We are hosting that conference this weekend, and we’re positioned really well with timing because this is happening, you know, early mid-September, and then the bills start getting filed mid-November. So we’re two months away from that. And then two months later, the (Texas) legislative session convenes.
So, we have four months between our conference and the (Texas) Legislature convening, giving us opportunity to bring together the stakeholders from these different sectors of the cannabis industry — different policy experts and industry leaders — so that we can have these meaningful conversations and try to create a united front so that we have as many voices speaking in unison on things that make the most sense and that should be prioritized this session. So, I’m excited about what we’re doing here with this conference.
While states with legal marijuana are imposing bans on intoxicating hemp products, cannabis advocates in Texas are fighting a different battle. Read More