New intoxicating hemp ban on table in coming Texas legislative session

The enormous intoxicating hemp goods market in Texas may not have long. Republican legislative leaders in the state capital of Austin are prepping to ban such products in the coming legislative session, which runs from January to June next year, The Texas Tribune reported.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick distributed a list of legislative priorities to GOP lawmakers recently, the Tribune reported, which included a ban on hemp-based delta-8 goods, along with possible regulations for intoxicating hemp products and new rules to ensure the products aren’t being sold to kids.

The news of a potential second attempt at a delta-8 ban comes on the heels of a lawsuit that’s still awaiting action by the Texas Supreme Court. The state Department of State Health Services attempted to classify delta-8 products as illegal back in 2021, which spurred the lawsuit. The pending nature of the case has allowed hemp companies to continue selling their goods until a decision is reached.

The hemp industry, of course, is fighting back.

“Any bans or excessive legislation of hemp-derived cannabinoids, as suggested by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and others, will negatively impact an industry that has an $8 billion economic impact, pays $1.6 billion in annual wages, and supports more than 50,000 workers,” Lukas Gilkey, CEO and co-founder of Hometown Hero, told the Tribune. Hometown Hero is a hemp company that has spearheaded the lawsuit in front of the state Supreme Court.

A new ban or regulatory system could endanger the roughly 7,000 hemp retailers that have cropped up since Texas liberalized its hemp laws in 2019. This includes gas stations, convenience stores and other sellers of consumable goods that have been peddling hemp-infused drinks, edibles and smokable products. It could also force other national cannabis companies to reconsider plans to enter the Texas market.

The hemp industry surge has also created a direct threat to the meager three-company medical marijuana program in Texas, the Tribune reported, with many cannabis consumers opting for the ease and accessibility of hemp products. The only three businesses licensed to sell medical marijuana in Texas are Fluent Cannabis, Texas Original and Goodblend, which have a combined footprint of 27 dispensaries, according to their company websites.

The trio of MMJ companies also only serve a patient population of about 12,000 active consumers, out of about 45,000 registered patients, despite the estimated 1.5 million medical patients in the state who qualify for medical marijuana.

Hometown Hero and other hemp companies have even put delta-8 vending machines in Veterans of Foreign Wars facilities so military vets can get them at their local chapter.

“The medical marijuana program is highly regulated, and the medicine is more expensive than the hemp product, and you have to have a prescription and renew it every six months, and you have to drive all the way to the dispensary, so it’s a big challenge,” one medical marijuana patient told the Tribune.

A spokesperson for Goodblend told the Tribune that the trio of medical marijuana licensees haven’t seen the influx of registered patients they had expected, and that the hemp market has created “unfair competition” while the licensed marijuana businesses operate with “our hands tied behind our backs.”

Nico Richardson, CEO of Texas Original, pointed out that licensed marijuana companies are prohibited from selling smokable products and also face a raft of other rules and hurdles, while hemp businesses face no such restrictions.

“It has turned into an absolute train wreck for the state,” Richardson said.

The licensed medical marijuana companies also hope for action from lawmakers this coming session in the form of lowered barriers to access for patients, expanding the list of qualifying medical conditions for the program and growing the program overall.

Similar attempts to crack down on the intoxicating hemp market have been playing out in many other states across the nation, with similar legal challenges and lawsuits filed by hemp companies, in states such as California, Missouri and New Jersey.