AUSTIN — A proposed ban on gummies, vapes, drinks and other retail products containing tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — has been filed in the Texas Senate.
Senate Bill 3 by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, would criminalize the possession and manufacture of products currently being sold in smoke shops, convenience stores, breweries, coffee shops and online by thousands of retailers in Texas.
Possession of the products would be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000. Manufacturing them would be a third-degree felony, punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The ban would go into effect in September, and retailers would have until January 2026 to comply with the new law, which would not affect the sale of nonintoxicating products containing cannabidiol, or CBD.
The legislation, filed late Thursday, would force a sea change in an industry that has grown from a few dozen players in the nonintoxicating CBD market to nearly 8,500 registered sellers of a wide array of intoxicating products.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Houston Republican, has made banning all nonmedicinal THC products a priority for the Texas Senate. House leaders have not indicated an interest in the issue, and no companion legislation has been filed in the House.
“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,” Patrick said in December. “Dangerously, retailers exploited the agriculture law to sell life-threatening, unregulated forms of THC to the public and made them easily accessible.”
Perry has promised to deliver “the toughest THC ban in the nation.”
“We must take bold action to keep dangerous drugs away from our communities and out of our schools, and SB 3 is a critical step in protecting Texas families from unregulated and mislabeled intoxicating products,” he said in December.
Advocates for consumable hemp had been hoping for a more measured approach to reining in the industry, such as limiting the strength of products, increasing regulatory oversight and banning sales to minors.
Calling prohibition a disappointing overreach that defies Texas’ pro-business values, supporters have urged lawmakers to avoid killing an industry that has, according to market research, created about 50,000 jobs.
“This legislation isn’t just about hemp; it’s part of a broader far-right agenda in Texas, where Patrick and Perry have used their power to push extreme culture war policies,” said Jay Maguire of the Texas Hemp Federation and political editor Texas Hemp Reporter. “Patrick, in particular, has been instrumental in Texas’ hard right turn, attacking public education, LGBTQ+ rights, and any form of marijuana legalization under the guise of protecting ‘traditional values.’”
The legislation does not propose banning the sale of products containing CBD, although it’s often an ingredient in hemp-derived THC products. CBD has been federally approved for treating a form of childhood epilepsy, and there is evidence it could be used to treat anxiety disorders, pain, insomnia and possibly inflammation.
Perry has said his proposal also will not affect the state’s medical marijuana program, known as the Texas Compassionate Use Program, that allows doctors to prescribe low-dose THC edibles and beverages for patients with certain serious conditions, such as cancer, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Hemp and marijuana plants are varieties of cannabis. In Texas, products containing THC from marijuana are illegal except for the narrow medical program. Most THC products derived from hemp plants, however, are legal because of a 2019 state law that allowed the farming and commercialization of hemp with trace amounts of THC.
Because the law was written for farmers, not retailers, it did not offer the sort of restrictions present in other states’ consumable hemp programs, including strict third-party testing requirements and age limits on purchasing the products.
The 2019 legislation limited the amount of delta-9 THC in hemp plants and products to no more than 0.3% by weight but did not place limits for any other hemp derivatives.
The law also removed hemp from the state’s Controlled Substances Act, effectively legalizing all of its derivatives without potency limits on most of them.
SB 3 would change the law to include any cannabinoids — products from the cannabis plant — except CBD and place the hemp-derived THC products back onto the controlled substance list. Those include compounds such as delta-8, a cousin of delta-9, and THCA, the nonintoxicating precursor that turns into intoxicating THC when heated in vapes and smokeable flower buds.
In 2023, some lawmakers attempted to ban intoxicating hemp-based products but were unsuccessful. Law enforcement has been at odds with retailers over the legality of the products because some tested after being sold contained illegally high levels of THC and products have been found in the possession of those younger than 21.
Purveyors and consumers say hemp-based products offer an array of benefits, from lifting moods to offering relief for depression, anxiety, pain, insomnia, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. A recent study showed a nonintoxicating cannabis product known as THCV holds promise for weight loss or diabetes patients.
Texas’ consumable hemp retailers hope lawmakers will enact more stringent regulations to avoid prohibition. A key part of that effort, led by several large consumable hemp retailers in Texas and nationally, is to pass basic regulations such as childproof packaging and age limits similar to those on alcohol and find a clear way forward for an industry that has brought in $8 billion in sales in Texas in the past few years, according to a recent study.
Some proposals also seek to mandate product safety testing by a third-party lab or to limit legal use to drinks infused with low-dose THC so sales can be overseen and taxed by the state’s alcohol regulators.
