Texas lawmakers in 2019 passed House Bill 1325, which became law and legalized the sale of hemp-based products, including those with trace amounts of Delta 9 THC. The state law allowed the sale of products that contain up to 0.3% Delta 9 THC content so that Texas farmers could cultivate and sell hemp (such as pictured, 2019) as another revenue source. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Dec. 5 (UPI) — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says it’s time for state lawmakers to ban the sale of all types of THC, including those made legal by federal and state laws.
“Everyone knows that agriculture is part of the fabric of Texas,” Patrick said Wednesday in an online statement. “Dangerously, retailers exploited the agriculture law to sell life-threatening, unregulated forms of THC to the public and made them easily accessible.”
Patrick said many retailers are selling “hazardous THC products” and “targeted Texas children and exposed them to dangerous levels of THC.”
Many of the products sold by retailers in communities across Texas contain up to four times the THC content of marijuana, Patrick said.
The products include beverages and other edibles that contain trace amounts of Delta 9 THC, which is the psychoactive substance in marijuana but typically is in much lower concentrations in hemp-based products.
Texas lawmakers in 2019 passed House Bill 1325, which became law and legalized the sale of hemp-based products, including those with trace amounts of Delta 9 THC.
The state law allowed the sale of products that contain up to 0.3% Delta 9 THC content so that Texas farmers could cultivate and sell hemp as another revenue source.
The state law also legalized the sale of hemp-based cannabidiol, more commonly called CBD, that is affirmed to have medicinal value.
After a new Texas Legislature is seated in 2025, Patrick said Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, will introduce Senate Bill 3, which would ban the sale of all products that contain any type of THC.
“We are not going to allow these retailers to circumvent the law and put Texans’ lives in danger,” Patrick said, adding that the bill would be among the first debated in the Texas Senate and likely would receive”broad bipartisan support.”
“I trust the House will also see the danger of these products and pass this bill with overwhelming support so it can become law immediately,” Patrick said.
The federal government’s 2018 Farm Bill made it legal to produce and sell hemp-based products, including those containing trace amounts of THC.
The Food and Drug Administration recently authorized the study of THC to treat post traumatic stress disorder, and the Department of Justice asked the Drug Enforcement Administration reclassify marijuana as a Schedule 3 drug that can be prescribed by doctors.
The DEA currently has marijuana classified as a Schedule 1 drug with no medicinal value and a high likelihood of abuse.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick says it’s time for state lawmakers to ban the sale of all types of THC, including those made legal by federal and state laws. Read More
