The Texas Senate this week approved a measure that would ban all products with hemp-derived THC. The bill was passed as state lawmakers met for a second special legislative session called by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to draft regulations for intoxicating hemp products and consider a congressional redistricting proposal.
If passed, the measure (SB 6) from Republican Sen. Charles Perry would ban all hemp-derived products with “any amount” of cannabinoids other than CBD or CBG. Possession of cannabis products not approved by the measure or covered under the state’s medical cannabis program would be a Class B misdemeanor, punished by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of $2000.
The complete ban on hemp THC products is more restrictive than the regulatory plan sought by the governor when he called the special legislative session last week. Abbott said in his proclamation convening the session that he wanted the legislature to approve a bill that would “comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products, including limiting potency, restricting synthetically modified compounds, and establishing enforcement mechanisms, all without banning lawful hemp-derived products,” according to a report from Marijuana Moment.
Legislation Threatens Texas Hemp Industry
Many hemp advocates believe the legislation poses an existential threat to the Texas hemp industry and will limit access to therapeutic products for millions of Texans. The state’s hemp industry has grown to more than $8 billion annual market over the past few years and now employs about 53,000 people, according to a report from CBS News.
Heather Fazio, director of the advocacy group Texas Cannabis Policy Center, told reporters last week that the organization is “disappointed to see the senate suspend their own rules to circumvent public notice requirements, disenfranchising the many Texans who would have testified in opposition to SB 6.”
“This is yet another sweeping ban on THC products,” she said. “Most Texans agree with Governor Abbott: The Texas legislature should regulate, not ban, THC products.”
Before the Senate voted on SB 6, Perry told his colleagues that the measure is identical to a hemp THC ban the chamber passed during the first legislative special session.
“Nothing’s changed, other than the fact that more and more information comes out every week regarding the impact and effects of THC on the brain the body and long term use, and the impacts of that,” Perry said on Monday. “This stuff is not good and it’s harmful for those that use it, specifically on a long-term basis.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s final vote, Perry maintained that “every state that has legalized recreational pot may have less people in prison, but they have more people laying on the street—and definitely, from a business community, less people working because of lost productivity.”
“With that, I hope that the ban goes through…and sends a strong message: We don’t need to be another California, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, New York City,” he added.
Hemp THC Ban Now Heads to Texas House
The Senate approved SB 6 on Tuesday by a vote of 22-8. The measure now heads to the Texas House of Representatives for consideration.
This is the second time in recent weeks that the Texas Senate has passed a ban on hemp THC products. The body first approved the proposal from Perry in a first special legislative session called by Abbott, but the session reached its 30-day limit imposed by state law before the measure could pass in the House of Representatives.
Democratic lawmakers in the House had fled Texas to protest the congressional redistricting proposal up for consideration. Their absence prevented the House from reaching a quorum, barring the chamber from holding legislative votes during the special session. House Democrats have returned to the state for the current special session.
The move to ban hemp-derived THC products in Texas comes as state regulators work to implement a law to expand the medical cannabis program that lawmakers passed earlier this year. The new measure significantly expands the list of conditions that qualify a patient to use medical marijuana and increases the number of licensed medical cannabis dispensaries in the state, among other changes.
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