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Posted (edited)

I have a friend who's a big weed/hemp lawyer based in Austin, who has, no doubt, been knee-deep in trying to fight this off for years now.  The last session, I messaged her and asked about it all, including the "what if" question.  She was like, "We're fighting it tooth and nail, but worst cast scenario, there's always the internet." 

 

So, there's that.

Edited by dcbc
  • 4 weeks later...
Posted
4 minutes ago, royiv said:

Hot Wheels vetoed the ban. Let’s see how Patrick reacts.

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/22/texas-thc-ban-bill-greg-abbott-veto-senate-bill-3/
 

Quote

GOV. GREG ABBOTT VETOES THC BAN

THE MOVE IS LIKELY TO INFURIATE LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK, THE POWERFUL HEAD OF THE SENATE, WHO HAD CALLED THE BAN AMONG HIS TOP FIVE BILLS OVER 17 YEARS IN THE LEGISLATURE.

BY KAYLA GUO

JUNE 22, 202511:38 PM CENTRAL.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday vetoed a contentious state ban on THC products, keeping the Texas hemp industry alive while spiking a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Senate Bill 3 would have banned consumable hemp products that contained any synthetic cannabinoid, often known as delta-8.

Abbott, who had remained quiet about the issue throughout the legislative session, rejected the measure just minutes before the veto deadline amid immense political pressure from both sides of the aisle, including from hardline conservatives typically supportive of Patrick’s priorities.

Abbott’s veto puts him directly at odds with Patrick, the powerful head of the Senate, who had called the THC ban among his “top five” bills during his 17 years in the Legislature and threatened in February to force a special session if he did not get his way.

Supporters of SB 3 argued that a full prohibition was necessary to protect young people from consuming products with high concentrations of THC. Patrick, in a May news conference renewing his criticism of the industry, called THC-infused products — such as gummies, beverages and vapes — a “poison in our public.”

The measure became one of Patrick’s most visible priorities this session, as he visited several cannabis stores and filmed amateur-style investigative videos of what he described as dangerous practices. 

Abbott’s veto comes six years after the Legislature inadvertently opened the door to a surge in hemp-based products when lawmakers, meaning to boost Texas agriculture, authorized the sale of consumable hemp.

Though that 2019 law does not allow products to contain more than trace amounts of delta-9 THC, it did not establish that same threshold for other hemp derivatives. Critics say the hemp industry exploited that loophole to usher in more than 8,000 retailers selling THC-laced edibles, drinks, vapes and flower buds across Texas.

Since then, the state hemp industry has exploded, accounting for roughly 50,000 jobs and generating $8 billion in tax revenue annually, according to one estimate. 

The hemp industry, in addition to some military veterans and farmers, had pushed for stronger regulations over a ban. Veterans and other Texans managing chronic pain and other conditions described how consumable hemp products have helped them cope and allow them to avoid opioids. 

But Patrick and his allies managed to advance a full prohibition through the House, swapping out a proposed regulatory framework — which would have barred sales and marketing to minors, bolstered law enforcement and banned certain synthetics — for a ban. 

As an attempted counterbalance, the Legislature also boosted the state’s medical marijuana program, expanding the types of products, the number of dispensaries and the qualifying health conditions, as well as reducing some of the costly regulations on dispensaries.

Whether Abbott would veto SB 3 became a leading question after the end of the legislative session, with the governor giving few hints and maintaining only that he would carefully consider every piece of legislation that landed on his desk.

After SB 3 passed, the hemp industry waged a high-octane campaign urging the governor to veto the bill and accusing lawmakers of putting politics over sensible policy. Opposition to the ban came from across the political spectrum, amping up pressure on Abbott and putting Patrick in an unfamiliar position in the crosshairs of conservative activists who tend to march in lockstep with him.

“This is stupid,” Dana Loesch, the former National Rifle Association spokesperson who now hosts a nationally syndicated conservative talk radio show, wrote on social media responding to Patrick’s argument that the ban would keep THC away from children. “It's like the gun ban argument with a different variable. Kids aren't buying it anymore than any other controlled product (alcohol, cigarettes, et al) and if they are, do your job as a parent and parent instead of idiotically expanding government.”

Ahead of Sunday’s deadline, Texas Democrats said if Abbott didn’t veto SB 3, they hoped the ban might help galvanize voters against Republicans in next year’s statewide elections. Abbott and Patrick are both up for re-election, though political experts said the issue alone was unlikely to pose a serious political threat.

 

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Posted

I hope Jeremy Wallace, the reporter Patrick called out at his stupid af press conf, gives Patrick some shit next time they interact. 

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Posted (edited)

The comments are gold. I wonder what happens to all that LEGAL product those headline grabbing police seized in the raids over the last couple of weeks.

Edited by RPM
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Posted
5 hours ago, RPM said:

The comments are gold. I wonder what happens to all that LEGAL product those headline grabbing police seized in the raids over the last couple of weeks.


My understanding was the DEA was involved, so the feds will probably destroy it but I think they still have a policy of not prosecuting

Posted

I've been speaking with a few reps trying to get some carve outs for those of us selling legit products. They're too focused on gas station trash and prohibiting products not tested in Texas. Goddammit all of our CBD products have trace THC from hemp but they're tested in Colorado. I shouldn't need to pay more money to another company to retest everything. 

Posted
18 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

I've been speaking with a few reps trying to get some carve outs for those of us selling legit products. They're too focused on gas station trash and prohibiting products not tested in Texas. Goddammit all of our CBD products have trace THC from hemp but they're tested in Colorado. I shouldn't need to pay more money to another company to retest everything. 

well they need to get their testing companies set up, before they can update the law to direct all testing business to their companies. Haven't you ever oligarched before?

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Posted
8 minutes ago, Captainant said:

well they need to get their testing companies set up, before they can update the law to direct all testing business to their companies. Haven't you ever oligarched before?

THIS.  They won't be using the Texas PHL that is taxpayer funded.  lol.

Posted
5 hours ago, nolongerU2horn said:

SB2024 did pass, which seems to mean all THC/CBD vapes will go away

Total ban on marketing and sale of e-cigarettes (broadly defined) containing “any cannabinoids, alcohol, kratom, kava, mushrooms, tianeptine, or any derivatives of those substances.”

Posted
14 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

Thoughts and prayers, Dan. 

I’ve heard he was blind-sided on this, and publicly he seems to be acting like he was. It’s pretty humiliating for him, but I’m curious if Abbott did it for the people who need it medically, or because next year is an election year.

I don’t partake of the devil’s lettuce or anything relating to it, but have friends and family that I believe have benefitted from it, and so I’m hoping we actually follow Oklahoma’s lead on it, and not let the Dan Patricks of the world shut it down completely.  

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