Texas special session: Ban on hemp-derived THC heads to Senate floor

The Texas Legislature reconvened for a special session, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s latest hemp-derived THC ban — SB 5 — passed out of a Senate committee unanimously. Sponsored by Sen. Charles Perry (R), the new bill is almost the same as SB 3 from the regular session. 

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed SB 3 and called for these products to be tightly regulated, not banned. However, he appears to be wavering.

If you live in Texas, you can use this link to tell your legislators that regulation is a better approach than prohibition!

SB 5 differs from SB 3, the regular session ban bill, in a few ways. The main difference is that possession of prohibited hemp products would be treated in a similar fashion to possession of botanical cannabis — a Class B misdemeanor, which carries the threat of up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. SB 3 had even harsher penalties. In addition, FDA-approved products such as hemp seed oil would be permitted.

On Tuesday, July 22, the State Affairs committee heard hours of testimony on SB 5 and then voted 10-0 to advance the bill to the Senate floor. The roughly 15 “invited” speakers who supported the ban were not limited to a two-minute rule for testimony, which was strictly enforced against veterans and others who opposed the ban. 

It was disconcerting to hear law enforcement state repeatedly that SB 5 will make arrests much easier. Since hemp flower has been available in Texas, possession arrests dropped by almost 75%. Texas still leads the nation in cannabis arrests, despite the declining number of arrests over the past few years. It appears that many elected officials in the Lone Star State are doing everything in their power to increase the arrests for possession to pre-2021 levels. 

We know prohibition does not work. Banning these products will disrupt a multi-billion dollar business that employs over 50,000 Texans. A ban will simply move a vast majority of consumers to the illicit market. A large segment of hemp products sold in Texas is hemp flower, which will still be banned throughout Texas, including in the Texas Compassionate Use Program. SB 5 is a bad policy that will negatively impact tens of thousands of Texans annually.