Texas votes to rein in hemp 🌿

TX HEMP
Lonestar State puts the hemp industry in its crosshairs 🎯

What happened: After what appeared to be a last-minute pause earlier in the day, the Texas House passed a comprehensive hemp ban, 95-44 late Wednesday night. 

Lawmakers have been trying to regulate hemp for the last few months. The latest amendment to Senate Bill 3 criminalized possession and banned the manufacture and sale of hemp products that contain any amount of THC or THCA.

The bill was supposed to receive a final vote from the House on Thursday before returning to the Senate for their final approval, but that had been postponed as of this writing. The bill is expected to land on the governor’s desk. Advocates are hoping for a veto before they resort to legal action.

What they’re saying: "We are preparing for a lawsuit. The Texas Hemp Business Council is fully-funded and positioned to go after a temporary injunction and put this on hold," Texas Hemp Business Council co-founder Lukas Gilkey said.

And: "They're poisoning our children. We must ban THC. We can't regulate it. We only have 1,100 McDonalds in the State of Texas, there are 1,300 Starbucks in the State of Texas. So, there are eight times more smoke shops selling this poison," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said, urging lawmakers in the House to pass the ban on Wednesday.

Only 34% of voters support the hemp ban, with 50% in opposition, according to an April poll from the Texas Politics Project.

There are an estimated 8,500 hemp shops across Texas, according to an economic report from hemp company Hometown Hero, which was developed by Whitney Economics. The industry supports 53,300 jobs and generates an estimated $268 million in annual tax revenue.

Supporters of the ban are arguing that the over half-decade old law that allowed for hemp to flourish in Texas, unwittingly led to an avalanche of intoxicating products that children may be able to access.

More and more states are tightening the rules around federally-legal hemp, and many have been rebuked by court orders. But so far, none have impacted a market the size of Texas.

-ZH

“This is reactionary Vietnam War-era politics continuing to rear its ugly head 50 years after the end of that tragic war. This is a dark day in Texas, and it will be remembered as we continue this fight. In Kentucky, we have an expression, 'There's no education in the second kick of the mule.' I don't know if they have that expression in Texas, but the mule of prohibition keeps kicking them," Cornbread Hemp co-founder Jim Higdon said in response to the Texas House vote. 

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